Higiene y cuidado dental en recetarios hispanos de los siglos XIV-XVI / Hygiene and dental care in Hispanic recipe books from the 14th-16th centuries

Numerosos recetarios de época bajomedieval y moderna contienen información sobre tratamientos destinados al cuidado del cuerpo, en especial del cabello, la piel o la dentadura. Se trata de textos misceláneos, donde los contenidos de medicina se mezclan con los de dietética, salud y belleza, motivo por el que en ocasiones han sido llamados “libros de mujeres”, debido a su vinculación con costumbres del grupo femenino. Tales textos incluyen indicaciones para la preparación de compuestos destinados a la limpieza de dientes y a combatir el mal aliento, recetas que incorporan materias antisépticas y de efecto bactericida disueltas en agua, o usadas en forma sólida para frotar directamente las encías, como dentífricos con que cepillar los dientes y la lengua. También compuestos destinados a encarnar las encías y a prevenir sus enfermedades, o a calzar los dientes débiles y faltos de raíz. Y detallan la forma de aplicación de dichos polvos y letuarios, que suele efectuarse frotando los dientes o mediante enjuague bucal. El artículo estudia estas recetas y analiza tanto las propiedades de las materias que las integran como los procedimientos seguidos para su aplicación. (AU)

[Cosmetic innovations in the Guerlain patents deposited in the XIXth century]. / L'innovation en cosmétique au travers des brevets déposés au XIXe siècle par Guerlain.

The XIXth century was the century of the development of hygiene, cosmetics industry, chemistry and modern pharmacy. After the French revolution, a new legislation establishes a law of recognition of the property of the inventors on their inventions. This paper describes the content of patents and certificates deposited in the XIXth century at the INPI, french national institute of the industrial property, by the creators of Guerlain, a luxury brand of perfumes and cosmetics. This paper allows to discover the variety of the inventions which recovers whitening lotion, soaps, ingenious devices and new perfume substances.

"The old family toothbrush": Stotesbury's whimsy.

Edward Townsend Stotesbury (1849-1938), a prominent Philadelphia tycoon, made his millions as an investment banker and financier. In 1927, his fortune was estimated to be $100 million. In 1912, at age 63, Stotesbury, then a widower for over thirty years, married a captivating Chicago widow, Eva Roberts Cromwell. As a "glittering socialite," Cromwell had an extraordinary sense of personal theatre, a keen eye for beauty and a calculating mind. Throughout the 1920s and 30s, the couple built three lavish palatial estates. At these mansions, they entertained on an imposing scale. Stotesbury especially enjoyed entertaining his guests with recollections of the events he experienced as a Civil War drummer boy. To conclude his program, he shared this lively tune: "The Old Family Toothbrush That Hung by the Sink."

The history and global market of oral home-care products.

This literature review reports the history and the current market of oral home-care products. It provides information extending from the products used by our ancestors to those currently available, as well as on the changes in the supply and consumption of these products. Although the scientific knowledge about oral diseases has improved greatly in recent years, our ancestors had already been concerned with cleaning their teeth. A variety of rudimentary products and devices were used since before recorded history, like chewing sticks, tree twigs, bird feathers, animal bones, tooth powder and home-made mouth rinses. Today, due to technological improvements of the cosmetic industry and market competition, home-use oral care products available in the marketplace offer a great variety of options. An increase in the consumption of oral care products has been observed in the last decades. Estimates show that Latin America observed a 12% increase in hygiene and beauty products sales between 2002 and 2003, whereas the observed global rate was approximately 2%. A significant increase in the per capita consumption of toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthrinse and dental floss has been estimated from 1992 to 2002, respectively at rates of 38.3%, 138.3%, 618.8% and 177.2%. Pertaining to this increased supply and consumption of oral care products, some related questions remain unanswered, like the occurrence of changes in disease behavior due to the use of new compounds, their actual efficacy and correct indications, and the extent of the benefits to oral health derived from consuming more products.

The history and global market of oral home-care products: [review]

This literature review reports the history and the current market of oral home-care products. It provides information extending from the products used by our ancestors to those currently available, as well as on the changes in the supply and consumption of these products. Although the scientific knowledge about oral diseases has improved greatly in recent years, our ancestors had already been concerned with cleaning their teeth. A variety of rudimentary products and devices were used since before recorded history, like chewing sticks, tree twigs, bird feathers, animal bones, tooth powder and home-made mouth rinses. Today, due to technological improvements of the cosmetic industry and market competition, home-use oral care products available in the marketplace offer a great variety of options. An increase in the consumption of oral care products has been observed in the last decades. Estimates show that Latin America observed a 12 percent increase in hygiene and beauty products sales between 2002 and 2003, whereas the observed global rate was approximately 2 percent. A significant increase in the per capita consumption of toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthrinse and dental floss has been estimated from 1992 to 2002, respectively at rates of 38.3 percent, 138.3 percent, 618.8 percent and 177.2 percent. Pertaining to this increased supply and consumption of oral care products, some related questions remain unanswered, like the occurrence of changes in disease behavior due to the use of new compounds, their actual efficacy and correct indications, and the extent of the benefits to oral health derived from consuming more products.

Power toothbrushes: a critical review.

Although the first toothbrush is thought to have been used in about 1000 ad, tooth brushing in America did not gain popularity until after 1945. The introduction of the powered toothbrush in 1960 has led to a large number of studies comparing the safety and efficacy of powered toothbrushes to manual toothbrushes. There is a general agreement that powered toothbrushes are as safe as manual toothbrushes; however, studies show significantly differing conclusions regarding the efficacy of power toothbrushes for the removal of plaque. The recent amendment of the Cochrane report on this subject concluded that the only type of powered toothbrush that removes more plaque than a manual toothbrush is one with rotational oscillation movement. Their conclusion was based on the review of 29 published studies, conducted between 1964 and 2001, with a total of 2547 participants. All these studies used similar research design criteria. The Cochrane conclusion is in agreement with a 1996 study carried out in the Netherlands. Many of the conflicting study conclusions, to date, on powered toothbrushes, are the result of using differing study design criteria. While the dental profession desires evidence-based research, it is clear that dental schools will need to increase the level of attention in their curriculum to address disciplined techniques for research design in order to reconcile the large variances in reported research results.

History of the toothbrush.

Civilized people have always used some type of instrument to clean and preserve their teeth. The first known instrument was a toothstick, referred to as a toothpick, woodmop, twigbrush, miswak, or siwak. Ancient Roman patricians employed special slaves to clean their teeth. The Chinese probably invented the bristle brush. French dentists, who were the most advanced in Europe, advocated the use of toothbrushes in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Still the toothbrush is a relative modern invention. Today, toothbrushes come in a variety of shapes and sizes with more choices than ever.

Escovas dentais / Toothbrushes

Neste trabalho, os autores realizam uma mirada histórica da trajetória dos cuidados com a higiene bucal e a evolução das escovas dentais através dos tempos. Das empíricas técnicas para limpar os dentes com aparatos primitivos aos diversificados modelos de escovas de nossos dias, um formidável avanço científico, tecnológico e cultural teve como pano de fundo o desenrolar da história da humanidade

[Historical investigation of dentifrice in China].

A herbal literature survey was carried out on data concerning historical pharmacognostical changes of "dentifrice" in China and how diseases of the teeth and gums had been treated there in ancient times. It had been considered to be a matter of utmost importance that to prevent teeth from decaying, only the brushing of teeth with a toothbrush was necessary. Over time, various tooth agents have been found to treat oral diseases the teeth and gums. Glycyrrhizae Radix, Ginseng Radix, Scutellariae Radix, Menthae Herbal, and salt were widely used materials. Investigations from all approaches are being carried out to develop remedies for oral diseases, including Kampo medicine and the pharmacological effects of numerous crude drugs. When tracing the pharmacognostical changes of dentifrice in ancient China, we felt wonder at and admiration for the abundance of clinical experiences described in the old herbal and medical literature we researched.

Toothbrushing: why, when and how?

Toothbrushing is a widely practiced oral healthcare habit which, in conjunction with fluoride toothpaste, can help to prevent dental caries and periodontal disease. The effectiveness of toothbrushing is dependent on many different factors including frequency and duration of brushing, rinsing habits and brush type. Knowledge of how these factors influence effectiveness will allow the dental professional to give appropriate advice.