When it comes to brushing your teeth, there are two kinds of people: the ones that brush their teeth before eating breakfast and the ones that brush their teeth after eating breakfast. No matter which group you belong to, the goal remains the same: having clean and healthy teeth.
The two essentials for brushing our teeth, a toothbrush and toothpaste, haven’t always been what they are now. From chewing on twigs to pig bristles to nylon bristles, toothbrushes have a long history. If you want to know where exactly the idea of toothbrushes originated from and how they developed into their present form, keep reading this article!
Good oral hygiene seems to date far back. Between 3500 and 3000 BC, ancient Babylonians and Egyptians created their first toothbrushes, the forerunners to those we know today. They flayed the ends of twigs and then used these frayed twigs as toothbrushes by rubbing them against their teeth. If you are wondering how historians figured this out, the answer is simple: These twigs were preserved among numerous other items in the tombs of ancient Egyptians, proving that oral hygiene was high on the agenda.
A couple of thousand years later, the Chinese took these twigs further with the so-called “chewing sticks”. Instead of using ordinary thin twigs, they took twigs from aromatic trees that were chewed to sweeten the breath.
Another 3000 years later, the first natural bristle brush was invented. In the 15th century, the Chinese attached stiff bristles from a pig’s neck to handles made out of either bone or bamboo. When these toothbrushes made their way to Europe, the pig bristles were replaced by horsehair, since it was much softer; some models also used feathers.
In 1780, the Briton William Addis designed a more modern toothbrush that was built on the idea of the natural bristle brush from China. He carved a handle from cattle bone and attached pigs’ hair as the brush portion. 60 years later, this design was further developed into three-row brushes, looking similar to the toothbrushes we have nowadays.
Although toothbrushes have already been on people’s minds since ancient times, they did not become truly modern until 1938, with the invention of nylon. Softer nylon bristles were created to replace the natural bristles made from animal hair. Consumers preferred these nylon toothbrushes since they had softer bristles and were more hygienic. The first electric toothbrush was created in 1939, truly showing the modern development of toothbrushes.
Since toothbrushes only make up half of the requirements for brushing your teeth, let’s have a look at the other half: toothpaste.
Just like toothbrushes, toothpaste dates back far, even further than the invention of toothbrushes. Ancient toothpaste had the same goals as our modern toothpaste: to whiten the teeth, freshen the breath, and clean the teeth and gums. However, its ingredients were in some cases far from being hygienic. Some included burnt eggshells, grounded-up ox hooves’ ashes, crushed bones, or oyster shells.
The kind of toothpaste that we are using now started being developed in the 19th century. Before that, it was more of a powder than a paste, and early versions contained soap or chalk. A hundred years later, soap was being replaced with other ingredients to make it a smoother paste, and with the advancement of dentistry, special toothpaste was created to treat specific conditions, such as tooth decay or sensitivity. Nowadays, toothpaste contains coloring, sweetener, and fluoride, making it smooth, tasty, and foamy.
We have come a long way from toothbrushes made out of hair and toothpastes made out of bone to what we know them as today. It is needless to say that seeing the importance of these tools in the early days, thousands of years BC, proves how necessary and crucial good oral hygiene is to our overall health. With that being said, don’t forget to brush your teeth twice a day for two minutes and take care of your teeth to allow them to stay clean and healthy!
Sources:
https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/brushing-and-flossing/history-of-toothbrushes-and-toothpastes# (Editors of Colgate, March 30th, 2023)
https://smileconcepts.co.uk/toothbrush-history/#:~:text=In%201780%20William%20Addis%20invented,three%2Drow%20brush%20was%20developed (Editors of smileconcepts dentostry, March 30th, 2023)
https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/technology/item/who-invented-the-toothbrush-and-when-was-it-invented/#:~:text=The%20toothbrush%20as%20we%20know,were%20rubbed%20against%20the%20teeth (Science Reference Section, Library of Congress, March 30th, 2023)