The idiom “伶牙俐齿” (líng yá lì chǐ, meaning to be glib-tongued or have a ready tongue) has no direct origin related to toothbrushing. However, the emergence and development of the toothbrushing habit have their own historical backgrounds, which are introduced as follows:
Early Mouth-rinsing Habit
In ancient times, people didn’t have the awareness of toothbrushing, but they already had a simple oral cleaning behavior, that is, mouth rinsing. It was recorded in “The Book of Rites” that “When the roosters first crow, everyone washes their hands and rinses their mouths.” That means people got up in the morning after the roosters crowed and rinsed their mouths with water by pouring it into the mouth and forcefully flushing it back and forth to clean their teeth. This was the initial way for the ancients to deal with dental hygiene.
Using Fingers to Clean between Teeth
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, people began to use their fingernails as tools to clean between their teeth. In the morning, they would first wash their fingers clean, then insert their fingers into their teeth to do a proper cleaning, and finally rinse their mouths with clean water to remove the debris between the teeth.
Wiping Teeth with Cloth Towels
Later, people realized that the surfaces of their teeth also needed to be cleaned. So they would wrap a piece of cloth around their fingers and wipe their teeth with it every morning.
The Appearance of Toothpicks
In the Tang Dynasty, with the increase of foreign exchanges, the introduction of Buddhist culture had a certain impact on people’s lives, and “toothpicks” began to appear. According to “A Record of Buddhist Practices Sent Back from the South China Sea,” every morning, one should chew on a toothpick, wipe the teeth and scrape the tongue to ensure proper cleaning. A toothpick was a specially made small wooden stick. People would chew on one end of the toothpick to make its fibers soft and then use it to wipe their teeth and tongue to clean the oral cavity.
The Birth of Toothbrushes and Toothpowders
- Toothbrushes: In the Tang Dynasty, a tool similar to modern toothbrushes also emerged. People used animal bristles to make the brush bristles and stones or wood to make the brush handles, thus making the earliest toothbrushes. By the Song Dynasty, toothbrushes began to appear in various stores and became a necessity in people’s households.
- Toothpowders: Also in the Tang Dynasty, toothpowders came into being. Their main ingredients were mostly traditional Chinese medicines, such as half a liang of Cimicifuga foetida, three fen each of Angelica dahurica, Ligusticum sinense, Asarum sieboldii, Aquilaria sinensis, and six fen of Gypsum fibrosum. These medicinal materials were crushed, sieved, and made into powder, which was the toothpowder. However, at that time, toothpowders were quite precious and were mostly used by noble families. Ordinary people mostly used salt water, diluted wine, etc. to clean their oral cavities.
The Popularization of the Toothbrushing Habit
With the passage of time and the development of society, people’s attention to oral hygiene has been continuously increasing, and the toothbrushing habit has gradually become popular. In the early 20th century, the toothbrushing habit was more widely promoted worldwide, mainly due to the improvement of oral health awareness and the development of dental medicine.