History’s Worst Dental Hacks

If you think brushing your teeth is a chore, imagine starting your day by rubbing powdered glass and burnt animal parts on your gums, then rinsing with kid pee. For much of human history, that counted as “good hygiene.”

People have tried to clean their teeth for thousands of years, but the modern toothbrush‑and‑toothpaste combo is a very recent luxury. Earlier medical advice ranged from questionable to horrifying, and reading it might make you want to hug your dentist.

Ancient Abrasives

Before toothbrushes existed, folks scrubbed their teeth with fingers or cloth dipped in gritty powders. Egyptians used mixtures of pumice, burnt eggshells, and ox‑hoof ash. Greeks went even stranger: Hippocrates suggested powders made from roasted hare heads and mice, based on the idea that animal traits could be transferred to humans.

He also recommended chalk and herbal rinses with dill, aniseed, myrrh, and white wine — one of the few ancient tips that wouldn’t get you arrested today.

Romans added their own flair, including radish powder, crushed oyster shells, deer antlers, and even finely ground white glass mixed with fragrant oils. Some recipes were more violent: Assyrian texts describe rubbing a spicy resin mixture onto loose teeth “until blood comes forth,” which was apparently considered a good sign.

By the 1600s, Europeans were still grinding up whatever they could find — coral, crab shells, cuttlebone, even pearls — in pursuit of a brighter smile. A few ingredients, like salt, charcoal, chalk, and mint, genuinely helped. But many mixtures were so abrasive they stripped enamel, a problem medieval Islamic physicians warned about long before modern dentistry existed.

The Worst Mouthwash Ever

Urine shows up repeatedly in ancient dental advice. Chinese texts from around 2700 BCE recommended rinsing with a child’s urine for gum problems. Romans used urine as a daily mouthwash, believing its ammonia content made it a powerful cleaner. Aztec sources also mention urine rinses alongside more reasonable methods like charcoal scrubbing and saltwater.

A Few Bright Spots

Not every old technique was awful. Chewing twigs — used in India, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and elsewhere — acted like simple toothbrushes and are still used today.

But once you know what people used before toothpaste existed, the modern bathroom shelf looks like paradise compared to the era of hoof ash, hare heads, crab shells, powdered glass, and mouthwash you definitely wouldn’t want to confuse with apple juice.