How Did Georgians Clean Their Teeth?
"A French Dentist Shewing a Specimen of His Artificial Teeth and False Palates", drawing by Thomas Rowlandson, 1811. Did Georgians clean their teeth at all? The answer is yes... well at any rate they tried to. People were already aware that keeping teeth clean made them look and feel better and slowed down the onset of decay. Doctors recommended doing so and books and magazines offered advice. People who could afford it resorted to all sorts of methods to avoid toothache, early tooth loss, and dental misery. Toothpicks and mouth-washes were widely used in polite society and we also find references to tooth-brushes at quite an early date. In 1746, Medicina Brittanica by Thomas Short M.D. offered this advice: "Wash the Mouth often with a Decoction of Mouse-ear in small Beer; often snuff up the Nose Vinegar, wherein Primrose roots were infused ... To fasten the Teeth, chew often Roots of Brook-lime ; or rinse the Mouth often with a Decoction of Wild Tan...