Some of the early techniques of these cultures included chewing on bark or sticks with frayed tips, feathers, fish bones and porcupine barbs. They used materials such as silver, jade and gold to repair or decorate their teeth. According to a recent study published in Nature Genetics, former hunter-gatherer clans had better teeth than the current ones. This finding has been related to changes in the human diet over time.
Long before humans invented writing and the wheel, they learned to drill rotting teeth to ease the pain of tooth decay. Eating the tuber of a bad-tasting plant prevented tooth decay 2000 years ago.