Have You Ever Wondered Who Was The Genius Who Came Up With The Idea Of A Toothbrush?
Dental hygiene history is as interesting as any other history. Since the dawn of time, people used different tools to clean teeth after meals. From chew sticks to now electric toothbrushes, we have come a long way in respect to oral hygiene.
Have you ever wondered who invented the toothbrush you use every day? No, seriously. Who came up with the idea of a mop for the teeth and who put bristles at one end of it?
Dental hygiene history is as interesting as any other history. Since the dawn of time, people used different tools to clean teeth after meals. From chew sticks to now electric toothbrushes, we have come a long way with respect to oral hygiene.
At first, humans used their index fingers as toothbrushes and some of us do that even now when we forget to bring our toothbrushes, say on a trip. However, the first toothbrush was invented by a Chinese emperor on 26th June 1498. The bristles were actually the stiff, coarse hairs taken from the back of a hog's neck and attached to handles made of bone or bamboo.
And this is what followed,
1780 - The so-called first mass-produced toothbrush crafted in Clerkenwald, England by William Addis.
1857 - H.N. Wadsworth patents a toothbrush with the patent number of 18,653 in the US.
1885 - The mass production of toothbrushes starts in America.
1960 - One of the very first electric toothbrushes make a big wave in the American market. This is marketed under the name Broxodent by the Squibb firm.
At present, both electric and manual toothbrushes come in several sizes and shapes and these are commonly designed with nylon bristles and plastic molded handles.
But that's not the only thing you don't know about toothbrushes. Here are some more:
1. A person spends about 21,024 minutes brushing their teeth in a lifetime.
2. The most popular toothbrush color used universally is blue.
3. The common practice of putting a cap on the toothbrush is actually more harmful as the moisture entrapped in the cap can favor bacterial growth.
4. Roughly 4 billion people use a mobile device. BUT only 3.5 billion people actually use a toothbrush.
5. In 2003, the toothbrush was chosen as the #1 invention people can¡¯t live without, beating cell phones and cars.
How was that for some toothbrush wisdom?
