Mouse Paste for Toothaches
Among ancient Egyptian remedies, few were as unsettling as the cure for toothaches: dead mice. Healers would crush the rodents into a paste and smear it onto aching gums, believing it had mystical or medicinal properties. Sometimes, they didn’t even bother with paste—just tied whole dead mice to children’s faces.
This ghastly goo was a breeding ground for bacteria and did nothing to ease pain, often worsening infections. The practice carried into Roman and even early British folk medicine. It’s a prime example of how the desperation to ease suffering led to revolting, misguided treatments—and why modern dentistry is a gift we should never take for granted.
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