Toothbrushes, Toothpicks, and Oral Care

That Shakespeare Life

The Clown in Alls Well That Ends Well talks about picking his teeth, and Coriolanus gives an admonishment about hygiene when he says “Bid them wash their faces And keep their teeth clean.” John Holland in Henry VI Part 2 talks about having teeth pulled, and in the Winter’s Tale the clown talks about being able to identify a nobleman by how he picks his teeth. Of the more than 50 references to teeth in Shakespeare’s plays, most of them are using idiomatic expressions for strength or determination, like to set your teeth against a problem, for example, but a few of the toothy references we can find from the bard demonstrate that when it comes to oral hygiene, Renaissance society had established methods for cleaning your teeth, and even for prescribing oral surgery. Here today to talk to us about 16th century toothbrushes, mouthwash, oral surgery, and exactly why it was considered noble to pick food out of your teeth is our guest and author of “‘Carry Not a Picke-Tooth In Your Mouth’: An Exploration of Oral Health in Early-Modern Writings” Dr. Laura Kennedy.

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