Have you ever wondered how the Elizabethans cleaned their teeth over 400 years ago? There were no Dentists to offer crowns, bridges, braces or other teeth whitening wonders; no toothbrushes or mouthwashes, no injections to kill pain and no false teeth if you lost the one's you were attached to. All there was on offer to the every day Elizabethan man, woman or child, was a dirty rag to be taken out of drawer or cupboard, and a healthy sprinkling of salt from the salt cellar or if you put your hand up the chimney you could bring down some soot, which was also considered to be beneficial! This is how the poor cleaned their teeth. For the rich Lord or Lady of Elizabethan Times, there was Sir Hugh Platt's recipe for clean teeth! Sir Hugh Platt offered the hopeful recipient a concoction of honey, wine and vinegar, which read thus: "Take a quart of honey, as much vinegar, half so much wine and after they have been boiled together, then wash the teeth therewith now and then!" Presumably they still used a rag to administer the concoction. Whether this recipe for clean teeth worked or not, one thing is certain, there was no Colgate toothpaste in Elizabethan days. Toothpicks were also advocated and very popular although they were mainly available in gold and silver rather than the wooden toothpicks we know today. "The King's Quinto: The Life and Times of Sir Walter Raleigh (1552 - 1618) by Barbara O'Sullivan ISBN: 1413708285
by Anonymous

August 3, 2004 -- Sir Hugh Platt's recipe for clean teeth:

"Take a quart of honey, as much vinegar, half so much wine and after they have been boiled together, then wash the teeth therewith now and then! Toothpicks were also advocated and very popular although they were mainly available in gold and silver rather than the wooden toothpicks we know today.    

Perhaps Queen Elizabeth I did not follow the recipe and like so many who lived in that day and age, she had visible tooth decay in later years.

The author of "The King's Quinto" does not know if the Elizabethan diet was conducive to dental care, as the rich were tempted by what were known as sweetmeats (candy or sweets), which were eaten in abundance and in the absence of toothbrushes this could have caused major problems.

The typical Elizabethan diet for a Banquet consisted of:

Ales and Wines from the Brewers at the riverside and from the Vintners in the Vintry; Stock fish and salt fish from Knightrider Street and Bridge Street in London; White Herrings at 10s a barrel; Red Herrings at 6s 8d a cade (a cade containing 500 fish; Sprats at 2s per cade (a cade containing 1,000 fish); Salmon at 6d each; Poultry, lambs, calves, beef and lean oxen, herbs such as galagals or galengals which was an asiatic plant the root of which had an aromatic smell, and other spices such as blanch powder, cinamon and nutmeg; sweetmeats made of marzipan and saunders which are the product of a tall Indian tree and used for colouring the sweetmeats; turnfole or turnsole which is a violet blue colouring matter from the leaves of that plant which turns it's face to the Sun as it grows. The herbs and spices were bought from the pepperers in Soper's Lane,London.

ISBN: 1413708285 The King's Quinto: The Life and Times of Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) - available from www.fetchbook.ca, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Barnes and Noble.com, and all good on-line bookstores including Tesco's!





This article courtesy of http://www.teeth-whitening-secrets.com. You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.

Submit Your Article