Though dental hygiene was becoming a regular part of personal care in the Regency, it was certainly not up to the standards of modern times. If one purchased a toothbrush in the Regency era, it was boar-bristled and bone-handled. Dental care would have been an expense many of the working class could not afford. Though more dental products were available for purchase, the conventional ways to clean one’s teeth included tree bark with tooth powder mixtures: abrasive ingredients like chalk and antiseptic; detergents like borax; or, astringents like extracts from the bayberry leaf. One might add peppermint to make it palatable. Still, I cannot think it was easy to make nor pleasant to use.
Fortunately for those in the Regency, the commercialized sale of tooth powders was on the rise, so those who did not have the time or inclination to make a tooth powder had ready access to them, provided they could afford it. However, rich foods, sauces, heavy creams, and tea led to tooth decay. The resulting bad breath did not make for pleasant conversation either. With varying degrees of success, home remedies were concocted from comfits to sucking on a mint leaf.
Like today, tooth extractions were to be avoided. There were no numbing agents, and a dentist would yank the tooth out with calipers if the pain became impossible. While many did not yet attend their dental health, dental cosmetics were widely practiced, including filing down teeth to hide or erase the traces of decay or purchasing teeth, much like one might order dentures today. In fact, the teeth of dead soldiers, from the newly deceased, and even animals were repurposed to make a set of teeth for someone who had lost their own, should they have enough money to make such a purchase as the cost was significant. But what would someone do if they could not afford the dentist? Barbers and local blacksmiths were applied to for these same services until the 1820s. Barbers used instruments known as “dental pelicans” or “dental keys” to perform procedures or extract teeth, and blacksmiths already had the sharp tools needed. Some extractions were so intense and done incorrectly that they would break the jaws of patients. Fortunately, dentists were more frequently found throughout the country beginning in the 1820s.
Sources for If Regency-era Dentists Did Not Recommend Brushing Twice a Day, They Should Have!:
Milan, Aidan “Don’t lust after the Bridgerton lifestyle too hard – Regency-era dentistry was a nightmare” METRO Wednesday, February 3, 2021 https://metro.co.uk/2021/02/03/sorry-bridgerton-fans-regency-era-dentistry-was-a-nightmare-13979637/#:~:text=Kailesh%20says%3A%20%E2%80%98As%20you%20might%20expect%2C%20standards%20of,to%20have%20lost%20many%20teeth%20by%20middle%20age.
Vic, “Dental Hygiene in the Regency Period,” Jane Austen’s World July 21, 2009 https://janeaustensworld.com/2009/07/21/dental-hygiene-in-the-regency-period/
Bairsto, Rachel “Was Jane Austen a toothbrusher? Oral health and hygiene in the Regency period,” BDA British Dental Association November 4, 2019 https://bda.org/news-centre/blog/was-jane-austen-a-toothbrusher-oral-health-and-hygiene-in-the-regency-period
Lathan, Sharon “Regency Era Personal Hygiene,” Sharon Lathan, Updated October 19, 2022 https://sharonlathanauthor.com/regency-era-personal-hygiene/
Vic “Regency Medicine: Dentistry,” Jane Austen’s World, August 11, 2011 Regency Medicine: Dentistry | Jane Austen’s World (janeaustensworld.com)
Firouzian, Michael Dr. “Got a Toothache? …See the Blacksmith!,” Dr. Mikes
Whole-Body Dentistry Blog, July 7, 2020, https://www.columbuscosmeticdental.com/blog/got-toothache-see-blacksmith/
Elliot, Jane “When blacksmiths were dentists,” July 17, 2010
When blacksmiths were dentists – BBC News
Kerley, Paul “The dentures made from the teeth of dead soldiers at Waterloo,” June 16, 2015 The dentures made from the teeth of dead soldiers at Waterloo – BBC News
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