What did people do before the inventions of toothbrushes?

Question

It seems like if people nowadays don’t brush their teeth often, they diminish and rot until they fall out. Before the toothbrush was invented, did people just lose all their teeth by their 20s? And how do animals teeth stay clean?

In: 17

Answer 1

Before the toothbrush, people used other methods to clean their teeth such as chewing on twigs or using a cloth. These methods were not as effective as the toothbrush, and people’s teeth would often rot and fall out by the time they were in their 20s. Animals’ teeth stay clean because they typically eat a diet that is high in fiber which cleans their teeth as they chew.