[AussieWog93]

>brushing teeth

I don't mean to nitpick, but on the off chance you share the same views as Richard Feynmann on this matter, please understand that tooth brushing is not a cargo cult behaviour!

People who do not brush and floss regularly undergo extreme pain (physical or financial) later in life and genuinely repulse others whenever they open their mouth to speak.

[dm3]

Don't worry! I gave it as an example of a behaviour we learn as kids which is easily explained because we know about microbes and the process of teeth decay.

However, people have been cleaning teeth for thousands of years. My (naive) belief is that people associated the procedure with good health but weren't able to explain why it works. It was mostly tradition or good habit passed on through generations. Citing Wikipedia[1]:

> The Indian method of using wood for brushing was presented by the Chinese Monk Yijing (635–713 CE) when he described the rules for monks in his book:

> Every day in the morning, a monk must chew a piece of tooth wood to brush his teeth and scrape his tongue, and this must be done in the proper way. Only after one has washed one's hands and mouth may one make salutations. Otherwise both the saluter and the saluted are at fault.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tooth_brushing

[AussieWog93]

>Don't worry!

Thank God for that!

>My (naive) belief is that people associated the procedure with good health but weren't able to explain why it works.

Also a naive assumption, but I suspect our ancestors understood completely that bad dental hygiene lead to both unpleasant smells and toothache. People are very good at avoiding both disgusting stimuli and pain!