#tooth powder

[thursdaymurderbub]

Screenland magazine, June 1941

[stone-cold-groove]

A dental care fact from 1944: Soft foods rob gums of exercise - they often become tender.

[16woodsequ]

Sunday Steve - Day Six

Things that would be new or unfamiliar to Steve in the 21st century, either due to the time period he grew up in, or his social-economic status and other such factors.

Day Six: Toothpaste and Floss

History Of Toothbrushes And Toothpastes | Colgate®

Toothbrushing tools date back to 3500-3000 BC when the Babylonians and the Egyptians made a brush by fraying the end of a twig.

Colgate toothpaste is a brand Steve would know. So is Listerine mouthwash. These were the two most popular brands at the time. Listerine marketed itself by making bad breath or "halitosis" seem like a medical condition, so people were very aware of the need to have 'fresh breath'.

Toothpastes contained soap until after 1945. (Link). But Colgate toothpaste was popular because it tasted good, so it didn't seem to bother people. However modern toothpaste ingredients creates a smoother texture.

Fluoride toothpastes were introduced in 1914, so he could have heard of those. (Link) (As a side note, there were also tooth powders, but toothpaste was growing evermore in popularity.)

However, would Steve even have used toothpaste? A common toothpaste substitute was baking soda. I don't know if it was dry or made into a paste, I haven't found a contemporary recipe yet. (I asked my grandparents and my grandma said her mother told her to brush with salt, so I guess that is also an option.) Tooth powders were applied to a dampened toothbrush, so I suspect that's how baking soda was used too.

Toothpaste cost about 35 cents in 1937 which was more than a pound of bacon (32 cents) or a movie ticket (25 cents). So it would make sense to skimp the toothpaste and use something cheaper.

During the war soldiers were issued toothpaste or tooth powder. (Link). Listerine was also used on the front, finding numerous uses such as "dandruff treatment, prevent infection of cuts and wounds or as aftershave" (Link).

Flossing was not very common before WW2, because floss was made with silk thread. During WW2 silk was in high demand and floss began to be made using nylon (invented 1930s).

Floss could be bought in small, round metal tins or later, even smaller glass tubes.

I don't know exactly when this ad is from. My guess is circa 1906-1930.

Flossing became a daily routine in North America in the 70s. (Link) Steve probably wouldn’t have flossed, but he may have heard of it. If he did know if it, then he would probably think of floss as expensive.   

What Was Hygiene Like During The Great Depression?

When you think of hygiene during the Great Depression, you might automatically assume the widespread unemployment and poverty resulted in a

I like how this article emphasizes that hygiene was considered very important, especially during the Great Depression. While Steve's hygiene routines may have been different (as we shall see in the next couple of posts) being clean was a point of pride.

Sunday Steve Masterpost

[cookbooksofyore]

Anacin

[wordfromoursponsor]

“A dazzling magnetic smile is an absolute Hollywood must” (1941)

[a-quieter-life]

I just saw your post about homemade toothpaste being unhealthy so I'm just wondering ow bad are the abrasive properties of baking soda and do you know a zero-waste alternative??

Sorry for the delay, Anon, I just got this message today!

Minerals are given a hardness rating using something called the Mohs hardness scale, which goes from 1 (talc) and 10 (diamond). The harder a substance is, the more difficult it is to scratch. Tooth enamel is around 5, and baking soda is 2.5; a lot of zero waste and natural health sites have used this fact to say that baking soda is not capable of scratching teeth.

However, softer substances can scratch harder ones. For a non-dental example: iron and steel have a hardness of approximately 4 while glass is 5–despite being harder, glass is easily scratched by iron, it’s just that the iron is damaged more than the glass is in the exchange.

Baking soda crystals are less abrasive than steel, obviously, but have been shown to cause small abrasions over long-term use, which is why a number of medical professionals caution against brushing with baking soda. These tiny grooves provide the perfect habitat for bacteria to grow, and can make you more susceptible to cavities further down the line.

On the other side of the coin, a number of commercial toothpastes contain silica (hardness 7), and have been known for at least a decade to abrade enamel, the results of which are worsened by regularly drinking acidic beverages (this study has a lot of good information for those interested in reading more about the above).

The take home message of the dental literature I’ve read (disclaimer: I’m not a dentist nor a doctor, not giving anyone medical/dental advice) is that baking soda is less abrasive than some commercial toothpastes, but still too abrasive to be using on a daily basis. It has been shown to be good at removing plaque, but this is a once a month rather than daily type of requirement.

What I do personally is brush with water daily, and dissolve baking soda in a glass of water to make a mouthwash. This gives you the pH-balancing action of the baking soda while getting rid of the abrasion. I do brush with baking soda, but only once a month to once per two months, depending on whether or not I see plaque buildup. This is actually how old-fashioned tooth powders were used a century ago, on an as-needed basis. They have become popular again, but people have forgotten how to use them (and there are plenty of 1950′s and before patents and papers demonstrating their effectiveness when used in this fashion).

Hope this helps!

[wordfromoursponsor]

Claudette Colbert: “I think Hollywood’s a fine charm school” (1943)

[wordfromoursponsor]

“Helps your teeth shine like the stars’“ (1941)