What Did Ancient Humans Use Instead of a Toothbrush?

What did ancient humans use instead of a toothbrush? Tonight you'll scrub your teeth for two minutes without thinking about it. For almost two million years, nobody could. So what did they use? A stick. Painkiller bark. A flint to scrape out the rot. Beeswax to fill the crack. And the bones show that "ancient people had perfect teeth" is a myth. All research and sources are linked below. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Your toothbrush, tonight 0:56 1.8 million years ago: the first toothpick 1:46 130,000 years ago: a Neanderthal with a toothache 2:20 48,000 years ago: chewing painkiller bark 3:10 15,000 years ago: the cavity myth breaks 4:05 14,000 years ago: the first dentist 4:44 13,000 years ago: the first filling 5:20 9,000 years ago: a drill 5:56 6,500 years ago: a beeswax filling 6:25 Ötzi's mouth 6:58 Rome's worst mouthwash 7:28 The oldest toothpaste recipe 7:58 The chewing stick 8:16 The first toothbrush 8:54 Nylon, 1938 9:13 What it all means 📚 RESEARCH & SOURCES: ▸ Toothpick grooves at Dmanisi, 1.77 million years — Margvelashvili et al. (2013, PNAS). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1316052110 ▸ Neanderthal toothpicking and dental pain, Krapina — Frayer, Gatti, Monge & Radovčić (2017, Bulletin of the International Association for Paleodontology). https://news.ku.edu/2017/06/23/analys... ▸ Neanderthal self-medication (poplar, Penicillium), El Sidrón — Weyrich et al. (2017, Nature). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21674 ▸ Cavities in 51.2% of teeth, Taforalt, 15,000 years ago — Humphrey et al. (2014, PNAS). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1318176111 ▸ Oldest cavity treatment with flint, Villabruna — Oxilia et al. (2015, Scientific Reports). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep12150 ▸ Bitumen filling, Riparo Fredian, 13,000 years ago — Oxilia et al. (2017, American Journal of Physical Anthropology). https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23216 ▸ Drilled molars at Mehrgarh, 9,000–7,500 years ago — Coppa et al. (2006, Nature). https://doi.org/10.1038/440755a ▸ Beeswax filling, Lonche, 6,500 years ago — Bernardini et al. (2012, PLoS ONE). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.... ▸ Ötzi's oral pathologies — Seiler et al. (2013, European Journal of Oral Sciences). https://doi.org/10.1111/eos.12037 ▸ Romans and urine as tooth cleaner — Catullus, Poem 39. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Transl... ▸ Oldest known toothpaste recipe (Egyptian papyrus, Vienna) — reported by Open Culture. https://www.openculture.com/2016/02/o... ▸ William Addis and the first mass-produced toothbrush. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...) ▸ Dr. West's Miracle-Tuft, the first nylon toothbrush (1938) — Museum of Design in Plastics. https://www.modip.ac.uk/artefact/aibd... #ancienthumans #dentalhistory #prehistory #humanhistory