Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s18.52

v1.c3.s18.52

Dant, Danta, ‘tooth,’ is frequently mentioned from the Rigveda onwards.¹ Cleansing (*dhāv*) the teeth was an ordinary act, especially in preparation for a sacrifice, and accompanied bathing, shaving of the hair and beard (*keśa-śmaśru*), and the cutting of the nails.² A hymn of the Atharvaveda³ celebrates the appearance of the first two teeth of a child, though its exact interpretation is doubtful.⁴ In the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa⁵ there is a reference to a child’s first teeth falling out. The word seems in the Rigveda⁶ once to denote an elephant’s tusk. Whether dentistry was practised is doubtful. The occurrence in the Aitareya Āraṇyaka⁷ of Hiraṇya-dant, ‘gold-toothed,’ as the name of a man, is perhaps significant, especially as it is certain that the stopping of teeth with gold was known at Rome as early as the legislation of the Twelve Tables.⁸