Brushing your teeth Survivor Style! - Brinkley Dental Group (2024)

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Home Blog Fun Brushing your teeth Survivor Style!

  • Fun
  • March 16, 2015

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It’s been a cultural phenomenon for over 20 seasons and spawned a number of similarly styled shows: Survivor.

Are you brushing your teeth Survivor Style! People are dropped off in the wild with only the clothes on their back and nary a toothbrush in sight! Despite this, all these folk seem to have shiny, beautiful white teeth! How is that possible? Pan back for the long shot and the camera occasionally shows tribe members scraping away at their teeth with sticks. Sticks!!!???

Can you really use a stick to clean your teeth and if so, will it cause harm to your teeth and enamel? If you were ever curious about whether this is a possibility vs. a “made for TV reality moment” then read on!

It goes without saying that a dentist would certainly never recommend scraping your teeth with sticks but at its core (and we’ve talked about toothbrushes before) a toothbrush does perform a similar function. It brushes away at the surface of the tooth removing food and debris and helping to prevent the build up of plaque and bacteria. In the absence of a toothbrush – perhaps a stick really is the next best thing.

Chewing sticks have actually been in use for centuries and Brushing your teeth Survivor Style has been a thing. Traditional people from around the globe have utilized indigenous plants and trees to fashion natural tooth brushes. Understanding the environment around them, ancient peoples used twigs that contained natural healing properties, often from such trees as the Eucalyptus, Oak, Fir or Juniper. In parts of Africa, chew sticks are made from the “salvadora persica” tree which is actually otherwise known as the “toothbrush tree.” Wikipedia. When these twigs/sticks are used properly, with care and caution, the chewing stick has actually been shown in some research studies to outrank the toothbrush in terms of its effectiveness! Certainly they are an easy and disposable alternative under certain conditions where access to safe, clean, drinking water and/or where more “modern” approaches to tooth care are unavailable.

Bottom line is this – sometimes reality TV actually contains a healthy dose of reality! Survivor contestants really do “brush” their teeth with sticks and while they may have had their teeth whitened before the show to help maintain that health glow, the chewing stick really helps too. My guess is the fact they don’t get much food to eat also helps….but that’s a story for another day!

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Brushing your teeth Survivor Style! - Brinkley Dental Group (2024)

FAQs

Do the contestants on Survivor get to brush their teeth? ›

Okay, but do the Survivor contestants get toothbrushes? The cast learns to get inventive in order to brush their teeth. Hannah Shapiro, runner-up on the 33rd season of Survivor and contributor to Men's Health, told Mic that the contestants brush our teeth with bamboo while they're on the island.

How are survivor contestants' teeth so white? ›

The production also does some color-editing in the post-production, which makes the players' teeth look whiter.

Did primitive people brush their teeth? ›

Findings from ancient tartar analyses indicate that even cavemen cleaned the spaces between their teeth with plant fibres. However, dental care was not a priority for our earliest ancestors. As the diet during the Stone Age contained hardly any sugar, tooth decay was rare.

How do you brush your teeth with disability? ›

Sit behind the wheelchair, lock the wheels and then tilt the chair into your lap. You can also stand behind the person or lean against a wall for additional support. Then use your arm to hold the person's head gently against your body, before brushing their teeth.

Do they provide condoms on Survivor? ›

Yes, Survivor is real. No, the contestants are not whisked away to a hotel at night. Yes, they are out there suffering 24 hours a day. And no, other than sunscreen, feminine hygiene products, and, somewhat infamously, condoms, the players are not secretly given the creature comforts of home.

Has anyone gotten pregnant on Survivor? ›

Some big news has been shared by Survivor 46 player Kenzie Petty. While her Survivor episodes are still playing out on CBS, Kenzie shared a huge announcement with her fans and followers. Kenzie Petty is pregnant and expecting a baby with her husband, Jackson.

How do female Survivor contestants deal with periods? ›

Players can submit requests for period products and other necessities before their season starts. The "Survivor: Island of the Idols'' player Elaine Stott said producers allowed them to submit necessities in advance. Once they get to the island, those items are kept in an off-camera medical box in the woods.

Where do Survivor contestants go to the bathroom? ›

The other is simply pooping on land—and each tribe of contestants on Survivor will designate an area of their beach to be used for this purpose, which is commonly referred to among producers and cast members as Coconut Grove.

Do they shave their legs on Survivor? ›

"The contestants do not have access to razors, nor do they shave during their time on the island," Dehnart said. "Any lack of growth you notice probably has to do with waxing or laser procedures, or the quality of the footage on your TV screen."

Why did cavemen have no cavities? ›

A new study found that humans living in Sudan about 2,000 years ago were actually preventing cavities by eating a plant called the purple nutsedge. Today, purple nutsedge is an aggressive weed that we do everything possible to contain. But back then, it may have been the key to decay prevention.

How long do teeth last without brushing? ›

One week without brushing:

After a week, the enamel on your teeth will start to fail. The plaque that hasn't been removed will increase the development of bad breath. Cleaning a plaque-ridden tooth is difficult. If you don't brush your teeth for a week, you're more likely to develop cavities.

How did early humans not get cavities? ›

Ancient humans had lower loads of harmful disease-causing bacteria and a significantly lower risk of developing tooth decay and gum disease. However, once farming populations expand, there's a massive change. Huge amounts of gum disease and cavities start cropping up," says Alan Cooper, Ph.

Why do Neurodivergent people struggle with brushing teeth? ›

Neurodivergent children, especially those with autism, can face a massive challenge when brushing their teeth and oral hygiene. Autistic children often feel sensations differently from other kids. As a result, the feeling of toothpaste foaming and bristles scrubbing over their teeth can be stressful.

What type of toothbrush is easier for disabled people? ›

The Collis Curve Toothbrush was specifically designed to be easy to use for people with a disability self-brushing or for caregivers providing assistance brushing.

How to clean gums with no teeth? ›

Gently Clean Gums

Make sure your loved one cleans his or her gums twice a day. This can be done with either a very soft toothbrush or a wet washcloth. Since the gums have a much softer surface than the teeth, your loved one doesn't need to apply a lot of pressure to clean them.

How do people on Survivor keep their teeth clean? ›

The Boost Juice CEO explained that they would then dip the bamboo into the ash from the fire pit to create a charcoal paste. 'We dipped bamboo into the ashes and that's how I brushed my teeth,' she said. 'I did that twice a day, then washed my mouth out with salt water, spat that out and drank fresh water. '

Do Survivor contestants get their clothes washed? ›

Contestants said they'd wash their clothes in the ocean, scrub them with hand sanitizer, or boil them in the cooking pot to keep them clean. But Patel said the production team has a second "identical set" of outfits "in case something happens to the clothes that you're wearing."

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