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| Mr. Dinh Bao An processed ingredients for the tooth-blackening powder using handmade tools |
“Who blackened your teeth, I wonder…”
For Hue people in the past, tooth blackening was associated with important milestones in life. When a girl reached puberty, her family would prepare for the tooth-blackening process as a significant rite. Blackened teeth were considered graceful, reflecting maturity and self-care. This perception was woven into folk songs and poetry, becoming a familiar part of daily customs across generations. In that practice, the tooth-blackening powder, known in Hue in the past as thuoc xia or thuoc roi, played the decisive role.
To achieve an evenly and durably blackened teeth, one had to use the correct powder prepared according to a specific formula. Mr. Dinh Bao An shared that his family has followed this traditional craft for many generations. “In the past, tooth-blackening powder was indispensable if a household had someone reaching the age for tooth blackening. By the end of the year, numerous people came to buy it,” he recalled. At that time, Dong Ba Market had many stalls selling the powder, and practitioners of the craft could also be found in smaller markets across the city.
According to Mr. An, the tooth-blackening powder is formulated from various ingredients. While each family had its own formula, the main ingredients usually included green alum, black alum, and galla chinensis... Each ingredient had to be meticulously selected and processed so that the mixture would “seep” into the teeth without damaging the enamel.
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| After being finely ground, the powder became a finished product made from many natural ingredients |
The tooth-blackening process lasted several days. Before dyeing the teeth, the person had to clean their teeth thoroughly, hold a sour substance in the mouth (usually lemon juice), and rinse the mouth with rice wine to soften the enamel. The powder was then smeared onto areca or coconut leaves, applied to the teeth, and replaced at specific intervals. After several layers, the teeth would turn glossy and even black.
Mrs. Truong Thi Kim Anh, who is Mr. An’s wife, shared: “Beyond dyeing teeth, people in the past used this powder to keep their gums healthy and reduce toothaches. Done correctly, the teeth become very strong.” She added that to keep the teeth shiny, a layer of coconut shell resin had to be reapplied annually. If neglected, the color would fade and become blotchy, a condition known in folk term as “rang cai ma”.
The person who made the powder also went through many arduous steps. The green alum and black alum had to be roasted to specific dryness before being pounded, and the galla chinensis was sun-dried and finely ground. All steps were done by hand. “The smell of the alum is very pungent; working with it for long makes nose sting and eyes water,” said Mrs. Kim Anh. Even so, this craft once provided a stable livelihood for their family for a long time.
“To make our love beautiful, to let my love intoxicated”
As white teeth gradually became the standard of beauty, the custom of tooth blackening in Hue also receded from daily life. The image of elderly ladies and young women with their smiles with blackened teeth in markets or villages grew increasingly rare, then almost disappeared. The craft of making the powder also lost its customers. Mr. An noted there was long periods when no one came to buy. Former practitioners had mostly given up on the craft. The elderly passed away, and the young chose not to learn a craft with no remaining market.
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| Mr. Dinh Bao An processed ingredients for the tooth-blackening powder using handmade tools |
Mr. An and his wife still keeps the craft, but mainly to serve those interested in researching and introducing old customs, or to use in demonstrations and exhibitions. “Some people come just to learn about it; others want to rediscover it to introduce to their children and grandchildren…,” said Mrs. Kim Anh.
Inside their familiar house, Mr. An and his wife still keep all the tools for making the powder, from the manual stone grinder and the mortar to the jars of ingredients neatly arranged on shelves... While chatting, Mrs. Kim Anh opened a jar of freshly made powder, explaining that it had just been prepared because someone requested it for a TikTok introduction video. Whenever the powder is presented at cultural activities, many people are surprised to learn how elaborate the tooth-blackening process once was. Many only know blackened teeth through old photographs, few can imagine the entire process behind them…
Recalling the folk verse, “Who blackened your teeth, I wonder/ To make our love beautiful, to let my love intoxicated”, Mr. An and his wife believe it reflects how people in the past cared for their smiles. To have beautiful blackened teeth required the properly made powder and skilled hands. Thus, the smile with blackened teeth of that era was seen as a mark of grace, bearing the imprint of the efforts of those who blackened the teeth and the craftsmen behind this unique powder.