Although the ancients did not have the toothpaste of modern society, they also had many ways to clean their teeth. There is a record in the "Book of Rites": "In and outside the world, when the rooster crows at the beginning, people wash their hands with salt." It can be seen that. As early as more than 2,000 years ago, people at that time had the habit of gargling their mouth every morning.

In the Three Kingdoms tombs excavated in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, there is a metal product with a dragon-shaped utensil with an ear scoop and a small poplar branch at its two ends. The small poplar branch is the tail of the dragon, round and pointed at the end. After research by experts, it is believed that this object was an oral cleaning tool used by people at that time to remove food residue between the teeth, which was the prototype of the modern toothpick.

There are also related records in historical materials. Lu Yun wrote in a letter to his brother, "One day, Cao Gong's utensils included toothpicks. Now I send one to my brother." This shows that this was the case at that time. Toothpicks are relatively rare and are often given as gifts.

In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the method of using willow branches to clean teeth appeared. "Chu Tai Mi Yao" records: "Every time I bite a willow branch to soften my head, I take some medicine and wipe my teeth. It is fragrant and smooth." It looks basically the same as the current toothbrushes, maybe the quality is a little worse. There is another method called the "finger tooth brushing method". As the name suggests, it is to use fingers instead of toothbrushes, which is a bit like the finger toothbrushes used for young children today. In the Dunhuang murals of the late Tang Dynasty, there is the "Lao Du Cha Fighting Saint Picture".

During the Song Dynasty, people began to brush their teeth in the morning and evening. "Taiping Shenghui Prescription" also recorded the methods of making toothpaste and toothbrushes at that time: willow branches, locust branches, and mulberry branches were boiled in water and boiled into paste. , add ginger juice, asarum, etc. to brush your teeth every time. Looks a bit like a few days worth of medicated toothpaste. And in the Song Dynasty, people no longer just used willow branches to brush their teeth, but began to develop hair-planted toothbrushes. Zhou Shouzhong's "Health Preservation Collection" records: "It is all done with horsetails when brushing teeth."

After the Song Dynasty, there has been no innovation in the production of toothpaste and toothbrushes. Basically, the methods of the Song Dynasty were followed. It was not until modern times that changes occurred. In ancient times, if the toothbrush was not around, people would still use concentrated toothbrushes. Rinse your mouth with tea, and some also use wine to rinse your mouth.

So there were many ways to clean the mouth in ancient times.