Dislodge

Also, while the Romans didn’t have tooth- brushes, they were well aware that clean teeth were essential for good health and a healthy social life. Toothpicks were employed after meals. Pliny the Elder, for example, recommends using the ‘frontal bones’ of a lizard. The British Museum contains an exhibit of a slender Roman toothpick in the shape of an ibis, with the bird’s curved beak used to dislodge offending food particles from the gums, and it seems such implements were not uncommon.

For more general cleaning, Romans would chew on twigs of fibrous wood. The wood fibres spread out as they were chewed, and this acted as a combination of tooth-brushing and flossing. To help the cleansing process along, Romans used toothpaste (dentifrica), which might include ground eggshells, animal horn, or bone (good sources of calcium), sometimes mixed with honey, myrrh, or mint. “It’s useful stuff,” remarks the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder.