How Teeth Have Indicated Status Throughout History

People didn't begin brushing their teeth until around 3000 BCE. The Egyptians and the Babylonians were the first to fashion rudimentary toothbrushes from twigs. By 1600 BCE, the Chinese had developed "chew sticks," which they used to freshen their breath. 

Surprisingly, prehistoric people living before the advent of the toothbrush had very few dental problems. This was likely due to their diet of unprocessed, fibrous foods. Conveniently, their food helped clean their teeth while they ate. 

In ancient Egypt, the wealthy could afford dental procedures. By the 16th century BCE, Egyptians were using dental fillings. Some fillings were made of ground barley mixed with honey and yellow ochre. The mixture was designed to keep loose teeth in place. 

Egyptian mummies provide evidence of ancient dental practices: A 2,100-year-old mummy was found with cavities filled with linen. 

The connection between teeth and status has changed over time. Bright white teeth weren't always a status symbol: In ancient Etruscan society, wealthy people often removed their teeth to make room for flashy gold replacements.

Anthropologist Marshall Joseph Becker explained, "Certain high-status Etruscan women deliberately had [teeth] removed in order to be fitted with a gold band appliance holding a replacement, or reused, tooth." Etruscan women sought out goldsmiths to acquire these appliances.

The Roman poet Martial mocked women for their vanity: "You use your teeth and hair that are bought and you are not embarrassed. What will you do about your eye, though, Laelia? They don't sell them."

In Mesoamerica, the Mayan people often filed down their teeth and decorated them with minerals. These dental modifications weren't simply a matter of style; they were also undertaken for ritual and religious purposes. Mayans fashioned jade inlays by boring holes into teeth with copper tubes and then fitting them with stones.

Mayans decorated their teeth with many different minerals, including turquoise and quartz.

Dentists began treating teeth around 5,000 years ago. Even before that time, however, ancient people were aware of cavities and tooth decay. They attributed cavities to a creature called the "tooth worm." Ancient Sumerian, Greek, Indian, and Japanese peoples argued that the tooth worm bored holes in teeth and created cavities.

Even through the 14th century, French doctors were still warning people that worms were at the root of tooth decay.

In Japan, women practiced ohaguro, or teeth blackening, as far back as the 8th century CE. At the time, white faces were in fashion, but white makeup often made women's teeth appear yellow. By dyeing their teeth black, women heightened the contrast between their white faces and their teeth.

To dye their teeth, Japanese women drank a mixture of either tea or sake mixed with oxidized iron. Drinking the mixture every few days kept the teeth black.

While the practice began with aristocrats, teeth-blackening became associate with geishas by the 18th century. The Japanese government eventually banned teeth-dyeing in 1870.