to be SHOCKED by something MIL told me about her childhood?

[SybilBeddows]

This was Derby in the 1930s, working class family (her dad was a builder), well-looked-after in general, they had a bathroom and were not neglected or living on the breadline.

They never brushed their teeth.
And their dad told them if they wanted to clean them they should get some soot from the chimney and do it with a finger, or if they didn't like the taste of soot they could use salt.

When she was 8 she saw an advert for toothbrushes and begged and begged her mum to get her one, and her mum finally gave in but she didn't know what to do with it.

I am

Hi who is DH?!
I looked this topic up today because I was told my dad (born in 1930s) lost all his teeth as a child through malnutrition - this seemed so serious I had to see how widespread it could be.

thanks

My mum had falsies - she once made reference to giving better blowies , but may have been on the gin! She waited outside the dentist for us as children & I went totally on my own from the age of 12 or so.

No fluoride in toothpaste or water, to help fight decay. No NHS dentists, etc. Had to pay for any type of medical care.

I know teeth were removed and replaced with denture for wedding present. I was told that if your husband wasn't all that nice, he'd take your denture off to the pub with him so you wouldn't leave the house and he could drink his wages up the wall.

Toothbrushes as we know them (with nylon bristles) weren’t even invented until 1938. And the 1930s weren’t only 70 years ago. I occasionally use charcoal for teeth cleaning, it does make your teeth very white.

I see lots of missing teeth now in her village.

Hopefully not just lying around the place?

I've also heard that it was normal to have your teeth replaced with false ones in your 20s.

It isn't shocking to me. It isn't that far back that people lived in proper poverty. E.g. my Dad was the middle of 6 children and sometimes they couldn't afford toothpaste. If he was still alive then he would be in his 60's so not that long ago. I have heard the soot thing before

theres alot of information in relation to historical dental health in the, its funny how back in the day they used to use charcoal to clean teeth (this was on mythbusters or brainiac science abuse years ago) but its making a comback in the form of activated charcoal toothpastes etc

its also a traveller way of life using soot from the fire to clean teeth. I find it normal because I had an uncle do that.

This was Derby in the 1930s, working class

I'm shocked because it was only 70 years ago.

but didn't know it was this recent and in a town and not particularly deprived (bathrooms etc).

This is why I like talking to elderly people. They give first hand accounts.

I'm interested in social history and the 1930's were deprived across the country. Poverty and poor health care didn't just happen in the big cities and the vast majority of people were working class. Like many places in England, Derbyshire was a also coal mining district, still extremely dangerous and poorly paid heavy industrial labour. These quint little houses we see in desirable rural areas now, were very different back then and no pit head gears there anymore to remind us.

I've talked with elderly relatives about the war years and been shocked at some of their descriptions, conditions I haven't read about in any history book, and been humbled at how calmly they talk about it. Not in an exaggerated or emotional way, but just as a matter of fact.

My aunties told me about witnessing widespread malnutrition during the war. I've read accounts by American GI's and even by a US General, describing the shocking conditions they found when they arrived here. But naturally, people often only want to remember the good times, usually

If it was my relative I'd want to record these stories in some way and pass them down in the family. It's also all our peoples history.

Sorry for the rambling post. I just find these old stories fascinating

I am almost 70. We had running water, indoor plumbing, and my parents were educated. Up until age 5, we brushed our teeth regularly with a mixture of salt and baking soda. When we bought our first commercial toothpaste it was a baking soda base.

ZOMBIE THREAD

Soot was commonly used to clean teeth, charcoal s still considered to be good.

isnt charcoal toothpaste a thing now too

Yes it's supposed to be very good. You need to a toothbrush specially for using charcoal and be prepared for it splashing all over the basin.

Why are you surprised? This was common practice

ZOMBIE THREAD haha that explains the 1930s being 70years ago. I thought the OP was in denial, you know like 1990 being 30 years ago! As if..

^Everhopeful1*s comment shocked me more than OPs

I seem to remember all the old people having false teeth when I was young.

Except my Mum (Co. Durham). She kept her teeth right till the end!

Apparently the thing that revolutionised dental care, and stopped tooth loss was putting fluoride in toothpaste in the 1960s.

My dentist gave me a lecture on how brush teeth:

floss first
soft brush hard ones rub the enamel away
back and forth not round and round
brush tongue
spit but DO NOT RINSE it keeps the fluoride on the teeth longer

Children do not have the fine motor control to brush their teeth properly until they are 11!
So brush their teeth for them w an electric toothbrush
Give a fluoride tablet on the tongue just before sleep (apparently they taste nice)

They will never get tooth decay.

The worst food to eat for tooth decay is a white jam sandwich! It is one long sugar bath
Basically don't have sugar in the mouth for long periods.

My Dad got his first toothbrush when my Mum bought it for him before they got married. He didn’t visit a dentist until his 40s. He grew up in Birmingham in the 50s in a working class family.
By the time he was in his 50s he had lost all his teeth and my Aunts and .uncles had very few or none left by then as well. I can’t ever remember my Grandparents in that side having teeth. They must have been in constant pain

Not shocked here, my dad was born in 1931.

He had all his top teeth pulled out in the army (when doing national service, so between the ages of 17-20) and had top dentures all his life, it wasn’t unusual, and he never had a bathroom, just a tin bath, and he was born during the great depression so I doubt Oral B whitening was on their top on their list.

It was such a different world back then though .I suppose maybe they didnt eat too many sweets ? Re the mouthful of soot sounds awful!Maybe something in it though as Charcoal Toothpaste is being sold!

We didn't get much tooth care in our childhood. 16 years old decided such neglect wasn't good and visited dentist for first time. Lengthy examination, he marked every one of my teeth for work on a chart as he was doing so. "There's a lot of work to do, we'll start at your next appointment". Hmm. Didn't return for this important work. I'm 68, wisdom teeth removed, all other teeth intact, no fillings. I'm not sure that all that free NHS dentistry was as necessary as we were led to believe.

1968, at primary school the school dentist visited every so often. My mouth was overcrowded so at 10 years I had to have four teeth extracted. The dentist also did many fillings. The drills were awful and created huge vibrations that went on and on. Looking back and chatting to others I think a lot of the work was completely unnecessary and School Dentists were merely practicing on children. Living on a farm I had a good diet with plenty of fresh vegetables and dairy product, and little access to sweets etc. As an adult I have rarely needed a filling and never had any extractions since. I do have a lot of fillings from the school dentist however.