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

FAQs

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

Unfortunately for players, toothbrushes, toilet paper, soap, and other personal hygiene items must be left at home. Fortunately for us viewers, we're only watching — not smelling. "Certain items are allowed such as contacts, feminine products, and specific approved medications," the producers reveal.

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.

The production also does some color-editing in the post-production, which makes the players' teeth look whiter. In an Instagram post about getting some damage on his two front teeth, Millennials vs. Gen X winner Adam Klein revealed that there is color correcting.

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.

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.

There are no proper flushing toilets during the Survivor experience, but rather a "drop hole" – a toilet seat and a 10-metre long drop. There, contestants can access pads and tampons, but things can get a bit sticky if your flow is heaviest when you're out at a challenge that's far from camp.

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.

We didn't have shampoo, soap, toothbrushes or toothpaste, all I had was the ocean and some sand to exfoliate, and that was the extent of my beauty routine, and I loved it,” she shared.

Supplies like contacts, sunscreen, and bug spray are kept in an accessible medical box. The "Survivor: Island of the Idols" contestant Elaine Stott said that competitors have access to a medical box in the woods with supplies like sunscreen, bug spray, and vitamins.

"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."

Do they get hair brushes on Survivor? ›

There's a reason the cast members leave their location looking scruffy: the contestants are stripped of toiletries like razors, hairbrushes, and toothbrushes. The only things they do have access to are important necessities like medication, sunblock, insect repellent, or contact solution.

But what Brenda did to you at Tribal Council in pressuring you to remove your teeth was strictly personal in that she just wanted to humiliate you for humiliation's sake. Do you regret letting her do that to you? DAWN: No.

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.

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.

Natural Toothcare Techniques

Native Americans cleaned their teeth by using chewsticks and chewing on fresh herbs to cleanse their teeth and gums. Chewsticks were twigs that had two uses: one end was frayed by a rock and used for brushing, while the other end was sharpened and used as a tooth pick.

Jeff Probst on 'Survivor 46'. Survivor players are indeed allowed to go the bathroom without a camera or producer present, but only under one condition. “I want to clarify,” jumped in Probst on the podcast. “Just so you understand why she said 'No, I'm going to the bathroom' — that's the only time we give you privacy.

The "Survivor: Island of the Idols" contestant Elaine Stott said that competitors have access to a medical box in the woods with supplies like sunscreen, bug spray, and vitamins. Stott also said that competitors submit tampons and contact lenses in their "own personal little bag" before they get to the island.

Basically, Dawn lost her two bottom teeth when she got “hit in the mouth” at some point in her pre-Caramoan existence, and she wears false teeth on a retainer. She lost them in the water and hasn't been able to retrieve them. She “really needs them” and is “so nervous” that she'll only talk to the camera in profile.