Throwback Thursday

[FireSignFemme]

Originally Posted by homoe

Twigs and leaves? Didn't that kind of defeat the whole purpose of brushing one's teeth...

I've known people to use all sorts of things in place of toothbrushes and conventional toothpaste. Twigs actually do a pretty good job. We used to do that when we were camping. You had to find the right kind of twig of the right size, then you peel part of the bark off all the way around, then you chew the end til the end is frayed. You'd scrub with that and a little salt if you had it, if not charcoal from the campfire, either way after we'd rinse with water, then maybe drink some tea or cocoa because back then our dentist and plenty others didn't believe sugar caused cavities.

When my dad was young they were really poor and no one got toothbrushes or toothpaste. They used baking soda and salt mixed into a paste and their finger or bit of soft cloth like flannel for a toothbrush. They'd gargle with saltwater. After the guys chewed on some mint, lemon peel, other good tasting things as breath fresheners in the hopes it would encourage females to want to kiss them. The females tended towards things like fennel, garlic, cloves, pickle juice because all were believed to have healing properties, and as an added plus, repel the advances of males. Good girls might want to kiss but their breath screamed otherwise. I had one aunt, everyone thought was cheap because she used rosemary.

Anyhow my father never saw a dentist growing up. Sometime in his mid forties he developed a toothache, kept it at bay using all sorts of home remedies for the longest while until our mother concerned about his health finally put her foot down and refused to let him kiss her until he got it looked at. He might not care if while he was kissing her a chunk of his jaw fell out into her mouth but she did. His jaw could fall off? Of course she lied, because she was worried. So he went to the dentist. After all those decades and never having been to a dentist only two cavities and one so small the dentist just nicked it, he didn't even have to get it filled. Unfortunately my siblings and I, we all got our mother's teeth.