Medieval people practiced dental hygiene, just not in modern ways. Everyday cleaning meant rubbing teeth with a linen cloth or using sticks as toothpicks, sometimes dipped in salt or crushed herbs. Medical and household texts mention tooth powders; when supplies allowed, mixtures could include ground charcoal, pumice, burnt rosemary, mint, sage, or spices meant to freshen breath. Mouth rinses—wine, vinegar, or herbal infusions—were common, shaped by the belief that “bad” air and imbalanced humor

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