Dr. Pascal Terjanian shares an article about the toothpick being utilized in Neanderthal dental hygiene.

The basic wood toothpick is quite possibly the most essential and simple thing that can be considered as a dental cleaning instrument or an apparatus. The most seasoned instrument for dental cleaning.

Newly examined Neanderthal tooth

Archeological evidence shows that hominin species such as Neanderthals utilized tools reminiscent of a toothpick to scratch or pick their teeth. This notion or theory was concluded from the impressions left on their molars.

Shaft-like depressions of a toothpick were found on a recently examined tooth discovered in Poland. The dental elements and radiocarbon dating of the zone all demonstrate it belonged to a male Neandertal in his 30s.” This male was picking his teeth in this manner as far back as 46,000 years ago. Most likely to remove the food deposits stuck between his teeth ” clarifies archeologist Wioletta Nowaczewska from the College of Wroclaw in an exposé for Science in Poland.”We don’t know what he used to make the toothpick – a piece of a stick, a piece of bone, or a fishbone. It must be a genuinely inflexible, round and hollow item that the individual utilized frequently enough to leave any obvious trace.”

The decent condition of this recently examined tooth has enabled researchers to do 2D and 3D examinations of its enamel, which were discovered to be more slender in Neanderthals than in Homo sapiens.

Other instances of toothpick usage

A couple of more teeth have been found in the locale close to Krakow which are deemed to belong to Neanderthals as well. A few of them even show practically identical endeavors at primitive dental hygiene, even though their worsening makes them more challenging to explore.

• In 2017, archeologists uncovered the disclosure of a rare Neanderthal tooth, which shows marks of picking and etching from 130,000 years prior, probably as a way to mitigate pain.
• In 2013, considerably more seasoned Neanderthal teeth, uncovered in present-day Spain, were again found with comparable impressions. A wood part was even discovered stuck between two of the molars.
• Additional materials bone, ligament, and grass are among the materials that Neanderthals may have used to clean their teeth, however, these still can’t seem to be checked in the archeological record.

The simple toothpick, as per popular architect Henry Petroski, who composed a whole book about it, is quite possibly the most straightforward and prepared apparatuses in human hands, requiring no parts to collect, no support, and no directions.

Despite stereotypically being regarded as crudes, Neanderthals had adequate instinct and hunch to use the toothpick – without much guidance at all.

Article Sources:

https://theconversation.com/how-did-people-clean-their-teeth-in-the-olden-days-119588

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/neanderthals-trees-and-dental-calculus-new-evidence-from-el-sidron/FB9B1618F8214898ACBFCD3607659D03

https://www.sciencealert.com/evidence-shows-neanderthals-took-care-of-their-teeth-with-toothpicks

https://www.sciencealert.com/neanderthals

Tune in to Dr. Pascal Terjanian’s blog for more helpful and educative information about oral health and treatments

Dr Pascal Terjanian