The ancients attached great importance to oral health care,
The Book of Rites once said: "Children are parents, chickens crow at first, and salt washes (guàn)."
Before the invention of brushing tools, gargling was widely used in ancient times, with salt water, strong tea and wine as mouthwash. In the Tang Dynasty, Sun Simiao wrote "Prepare thousands of gold prescriptions urgently": "Every Dan is twisted with salt, and warm water contains ..."
Self-nourishing brain
Gargle cleaning method: tea, salt water and wine.
Grinding and cleaning methods: Yang Liuzhi, toothpick and tooth powder.
Cleaning methods of chewing gum: clove, sandalwood and angelica dahurica.
Simple brushing method: brushing teeth (by hand)
Life-prolonging Book records that strong tea is useful for gargling. "At the end of the diet, the drum gargles with strong tea, which makes you tired and the spleen and stomach are self-harmonious. The meat is between your teeth and you have to wash it with tea. You can pick it without being picky. " Teeth are hard to hide, so they are getting stronger and stronger. Teeth are stupid and self-defeating. "It can be seen that ancient people paid attention to dental health.
Toothbrush was invented by westerners? Don't!
The first person to use a toothbrush was in China.
People usually think that toothbrushes were invented by westerners.
1770, William Addis, an Englishman, drilled a hole at one end of a bone, cut the bristles to the same length, coated them with glue, put them in the hole of the bone, and then tried to brush their teeth with it, with very good results, thus inventing a toothbrush. The history of owning toothbrushes in China is not only earlier than that in the West, but also more extensive.
1 Pre-Qin: Rinse your mouth with salt water
Before the invention of brushing tools, gargling was widely used in ancient times, with salt water, strong tea and wine as mouthwash.
Oracle Bone Inscriptions "caries"
The Book of Rites, written in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, also records that "when the chicken crows at first, it gargles with salt water", which means that when the chicken crows in the morning, it should get up and gargle with salt water.
2 Tang Dynasty: Wipe your teeth
In the Tang dynasty, people used willow branches as brushes and dipped them in medicine to wipe their teeth. In the Song Dynasty, some people advocated wiping teeth with willow branches twice a day in the morning and evening. The word "toothbrush" was officially used in the Yuan Dynasty. There is a cloud in Guo's poem: "The toothbrush is delivered the next day, which is worth one gold." In the Yuan Dynasty, people in the upper class used toothbrushes, but most people still used the dentifrice developed by willow branches and Chinese herbal medicines.
What we are talking about here are things made of Gleditsia sinensis, ginger and green salt. After refining, it is ground into powder to "wipe your teeth", which has many benefits and can "strengthen your teeth and black your temples". "Wipe your teeth" means wiping your teeth with your fingers dipped in powder.
"Tooth Wipe" in Dunhuang Murals
The murals in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes have the part of "wiping teeth by hand".
Song dynasty: tooth wood+toothbrush
Indians are used to brushing their teeth with poplar branches, so poplar branches are also called "wooden teeth". Moreover, in view of the important position of dental health in general health, Indians also presented poplar branches as a sign of "I wish you health". Later, this method was introduced to China, and our people gradually learned this way of brushing their teeth.
The ancient medical book "The Secret of Outer Taiwan" said that biting one end with a poplar branch and wiping the teeth with medicine can make the teeth "smooth". In the past, dental wood was said to be one of the daily necessities of monks. At the beginning of the morning and after meals, monks must chew the tooth wood into thin strips to remove the debris between the teeth. It has the functions of toothbrush and toothpick. After washing your teeth, you can go to chant Buddhist scriptures and worship Buddha.
Lips | red | teeth | white
There are even ten advantages of chewing poplar branches in the Buddhist sutra Huayan Jing. They are: 1. 2. Eliminate phlegm disease; 3. detoxification; 4. remove tartar; 5. Make your mouth fragrant; 6. Function name; 7. moisten the throat; 8. The lips are not wrinkled; 9. Obtaining acoustic gas; 10. It tastes bad.
This kind of branch used to wipe teeth is called "tooth wood", except poplar branches and willow branches.
Peach branches, Sophora branches and even kudzu vine can all be used to make "tooth wood".
Tooth wood
During the Tang Dynasty, many people, especially officials, used spices to get rid of bad breath.
In the Song Dynasty, Confucius' Notes on Gardens said: When an official sees the emperor, he should contain a clove fruit to get rid of bad breath.
The earliest toothbrush was a bone-handle toothbrush discovered by archaeologists in the Tang Dynasty when cleaning ash pits.
Toothbrush with bone handle in Tang Dynasty
4 Song Dynasty: Toothbrush
In True Eye Collection, it is recorded that when Zen Master Daoyuan/KLOC-0, a Japanese monk, visited China in 223, he saw a toothbrush used by monks in China to brush their teeth. In addition to gargling, monks also brush their teeth with ponytails cut into inches and placed them on utensils made of horns.
However, due to the high cost of ponytail hair, most people use pig hair and have used it for nearly a thousand years. It was not until the late Qing Dynasty that the toothbrush with pig hair withdrew from history.
As for the Ming and Qing Dynasties, brushing one's teeth or wiping one's teeth is described in novels such as A Dream of Red Mansions, Jin Ping Mei, and Romance of the Gods.
There was a special toothbrush shop in ancient times.
Awesome! Exquisite Song people
In the Southern Song Dynasty, Wu wrote the article "Sleeping" in Dream Volume XIII, which contains "Brush Shop" and "Fu Brush Shop". In the article "Full-color Grocery", it is recorded that all kinds of items sold in shops are "picks, wooden combs, grates, brushes, toothbrushes" and so on.
In the Southern Song Dynasty, it was mentioned in Yan's Jisheng Prescription: "Brush your teeth with a toothbrush every morning, wipe your teeth with Gleditsia sinensis juice, and observe for ten days without any dental diseases."
There is a cloud in Guo Yushi's poem in the Yuan Dynasty: "Nan Zhou toothbrush, delivered the next day, is worth a gold, which will remove dirt and trouble."
In the Yuan Dynasty, people in the upper class used toothbrushes, but most people still used the dentifrice developed by willow branches and Chinese herbal medicines. According to archaeological findings, two bone toothbrush handles were unearthed in the ancient tombs of Liao Dynasty more than 0/000 years ago in China. It can be seen that China had similar modern toothbrushes more than 600 years earlier than Europe.
At present, the common toothbrush has four parts: brush head, brush neck, brush hair and brush handle.
The brush head should be shorter and narrower, so as to reach into the whole mouth and clean the difficult parts.
It is best to have an arc brush head to avoid scratching your teeth.
Brush the neck properly, with the curvature of the gums, and reach the posterior molar area.
The bristles should be soft and hard, and the tips should be specially treated to avoid damaging gums and enamel.
The handle of the brush is based on a good grip.
Ordinary toothbrushes are updated every three months. Toothbrushes with bristles falling off to both sides can't be used any more. It can not only remove tartar, but also easily hurt gums.