Today, toothpaste is a daily necessity, but dental care was very different in ancient times.
The Romans took oral hygiene seriously. But some of their toothpaste ingredients may make you wonder if they were the subject of a torturous prank.
Did they really use mouse brains and human urine to clean their teeth?
VERDICT:
TRUE
Although the ancient Romans' oral hygiene routine was pretty serious for that era, many of their dental practices would seem unorthodox today.
Historical records and modern historians confirm that Roman toothpaste mixtures sometimes included powdered mouse brains and even human urine.
Romans generally cleaned their teeth using abrasive powders made from crushed bones, oyster shells, charcoal, ashes, and pumice.
These gritty substances help scrub stains and plaque from the teeth’s surface.
Documented in some recipes by Roman writers such as Pliny the Elder were burnt animal remains and powdered mouse brains, which were believed to improve the toothpaste’s effectiveness.
Yet, the strangest ingredient was human urine, often imported from Portugal as it was considered especially strong.
Romans utilised it as a mouthwash and mixed it into toothpaste because stale urine releases ammonia, a chemical that can help whiten and clean teeth.
In fact, ammonia-based cleaning products are still used today. The ingredients were frequently pounded into powder and mixed with binders like honey to make a paste. Herbs, bark, and charcoal were occasionally used to freshen breath.
Given the lack of modern dentistry and anaesthesia, research of skeletons from Pompeii and Herculaneum indicates that many Romans had remarkably good teeth and fewer cavities than expected, partly from their low-sugar diet.
Seeing how far dental care has come, sometimes we tend to take what we have today for granted.
So don't forget to brush your teeth. Because Rome wasn’t built in a day — but plaque is.
Reference:
https://www.ancient-origins.net/weird-facts/roman-toothpaste-0019971
https://dimensionsofdentalhygiene.com/a-glimpse-into-the-oral-hygiene-regimens-of-ancient-romans/
https://www.historyextra.com/period/general-history/who-invented-toothpaste/
