Pirates are often portrayed in pop culture as having rotten, yellow, or missing teeth. But how did real pirates actually keep their teeth clean in the 17th and 18th centuries? Maintaining dental hygiene was just as important aboard a ship as it is today. Keep reading to learn about the methods pirates used to keep their teeth in good shape.
Why dental hygiene was important for pirates
Good dental health was essential for a pirate’s survival and success for several reasons:
- Pirates needed to be able to chew hard tack and salted meat. Rotten or missing teeth made eating difficult.
- Toothaches and infections could be extremely painful without modern dentistry available.
- Gold teeth were common fashion accessories among pirates. Cleaning polished gold teeth required extra care.
- A pirate with rotting or smelly teeth was unlikely to attract a mate.
- Pulling teeth was excruciatingly painful without anesthetic.
Pirates took pride in their appearance and physical abilities. Maintaining healthy teeth was part of living the pirate lifestyle.
Toothbrushes
Pirates brushed their teeth with primitive toothbrushes made from boar bristles, horsehairs, or feathers attached to bone, shell, or wooden handles. They sometimes rubbed teeth cleaning sticks or rags over teeth instead. The coarse materials helped scrub away plaque buildup.
Toothbrushes and toothpastes were luxury goods for the wealthy in the 1700s. Pirates frequently looted supplies of personal hygiene items, allowing them access.
Toothpowder
Early toothpaste was rare and expensive, but toothpowder was readily available. Pirates cleaned their teeth by dipping a wet brush into powdered abrasives like chalk, crushed eggshells, salt, or brick dust. The gritty mixtures helped remove stains.
More affluent pirates or privateers sometimes used expensive toothpowders containing ingredients like coral, pearl, or cuttlefish bone. Baking soda and alum were also prized for their cleaning effects.
Saltwater rinses
Pirates frequently swished saltwater around in their mouths as a dental rinse. The salt helped clean teeth, and the swishing action cleared away food particles. Seawater rinses also treated gum disease and soothed toothaches.
When loading up on fresh water supplies in port, some pirates set aside extra water specifically for dental rinsing and cleaning their toothpowder brushes.
Tobacco
Tobacco was popular among sailors, and many pirates were frequent smokers. They believed chewing or smoking tobacco had health benefits, including dental ones.
Tobacco acts as a stimulant that can temporarily numb pain. Pirates chewing or smoking tobacco found relief from dental pain. The tobacco also cleaned their teeth and freshened their breath in the absence of mints and gum.
Pirate surgeons and barbers
Larger pirate ships often had a designated surgeon or barber on board who extracted rotten or damaged teeth. Without anesthetic, tooth extraction was agony. Pirates steeled their nerves with alcohol beforehand.
Surgeons had basic extraction tools like pliers along with skills for sewing up wounds after teeth removal. Not every ship had a trained doctor, so ordinary crew members sometimes attempted crude extractions.
Proper diet
A nutritious diet helped pirates maintain good dental health. Citrus fruits provided vitamin C to keep teeth and gums healthy. Hard foods like nuts and stale bread scraped away plaque. Though limited on board ships, dairy products strengthened teeth.
Pirates tended to avoid refined sugar that causes tooth decay. Their sweet treats of choice were honey and dried fruits.
Medicinal plants
Herbal remedies played an important role in a pirate’s first aid kit. Various plants were used to reduce inflammation, dull pain, and fight infection in the mouth. Common dental herbs included:
- Clove oil – Applied to relieve toothaches
- Myrrh – Used like mouthwash to treat gingivitis
- Cayenne pepper – Sprinkled on gums as a pain reliever
- White oak – Bark chewed to ease toothache woes
- Tea tree and peppermint – Freshened breath when chewed
Gold, silver, and gemstone teeth
Wealthy pirates replaced rotting or missing teeth with gold, silver, or copper replacements known as grillz. Set with gems and engraved, grillz displayed status. They were cleaned by rubbing the metal with a cloth and picking food particles out after meals.
Lower rank pirates substituted wood or bone carved into tooth shapes as cheaper alternatives. Grillz worn for too long caused issues like gum erosion.
Tooth loss from scurvy
Scurvy caused by vitamin C deficiency was the bane of sailors worldwide in the 1700s. Without enough fresh fruits and vegetables, pirates developed scurvy after months at sea.
Early symptoms included bleeding gums and loose teeth. As scurvy progressed unchecked, teeth fell out. Pirates tried to minimize tooth loss from scurvy through diet.
Docking in tropical ports allowed pirates to gorge on fresh local fruits packed with vitamin C like limes, oranges, and pineapples to cure and prevent scurvy.
Scurvy Treatment Methods
Treatment | Effect |
---|---|
Eating citrus fruits and juices | Restored vitamin C levels to cure scurvy |
Carrying vinegar on ships | Some believed it could treat scurvy |
Burying men up to their necks on tropical islands | Thought to cure scurvy quickly |
Oral hygiene habits
Like people today, pirates tried to make tooth cleaning part of their daily routine. To stay on top of dental care:
- They brushed teeth upon waking up and before bed.
- Chewed sticks or rubbed rags were used to clean teeth after meals.
- Tobacco chewing and smoking was frequent.
- Saltwater swishing occurred many times per day.
- Herbal toothache remedies got used at the first sign of pain.
- Surgeons inspected crew’s teeth regularly.
- Scurvy prevention was a priority in ports.
Periodontal disease
Periodontal gum disease that destroys connective tissue and bone was common, especially among older pirates. Poor nutrition, plaque buildup, and lack of proper cleaning all contributed to gum disease.
Pirates exhibited swollen, bloody gums, painful abscesses, loose teeth, and chronic halitosis. Tobacco use likely worsened the condition. Without dental knowledge, they tried to treat it with herbal mouthwashes.
The importance of teeth lore
Having good teeth lore, slang for gossip, widened a pirate’s social connections. Those missing teeth had difficulty speaking clearly. That made sharing the latest hearsay a challenge.
Rumors of treasure hauls, raids, ship movements, and merchant routes constituted valuable teeth lore. Pirate crews excluded members unable to contribute good lore from poor dental health.
Dentures
Primitive dentures did exist by the 1700s for those with missing teeth. However, they were extremely expensive luxury items. Made by specialized denture makers called operators, they used materials like walrus tusk or elephant ivory.
Wealthy privateer captains might wear upper or lower dentures carved and constructed for a custom fit. The vast majority of average pirates lacked access to proper dental replacement teeth.
Denture Timeline
Year | Denture Milestone |
---|---|
500 BC | Etruscans made dental bridges |
700 AD | Mayan carvings depict tooth replacement |
1400s | Operators made crude tooth replacements in Europe |
1700s | Full upper and lower dentures appear |
1728 | Pierre Fauchard invents modern dentures |
Pirate prescriptions and folk cures
Lacking access to proper dentistry, pirates tried to fix dental problems themselves. Prescriptions and remedies were invented and traded for issues like:
- Loose teeth – Hammering a wooden peg into the gum to stabilize it
- Toothache – Using a hot wire to burn the nerve and numb the pain
- Abscess – Applying baked onion directly to the swollen gum
- Knocked-out teeth – Replanting in sockets lined with honey to prevent infection
These homemade pirate treatments often did more harm than good. But without alternatives, crews tried whatever they could dream up.
Homemade Pirate Dental Fixes
Problem | Folk Treatment |
---|---|
Toothache | Plugging hole with candle wax or cheese curds |
Loose teeth | Tying string around wobbly teeth attached to others |
Cleaning | Using urine as mouth rinse |
Conclusion
Dental care presented challenges for seafaring pirates lacking modern dentistry. But through clever methods like saltwater swishing, herbal remedies, grille fashion, and scurvy prevention, pirates found ways to maintain healthy teeth and gums.
They valued their dental health highly for chewing, speaking, looks, and avoiding pain. Clean teeth aided in their adventurous pirate lifestyles. So while pop culture depicts rotting pirate teeth, the reality is that good dental hygiene played an important role aboard pirate ships.