Blog about Electric Toothbrush
[29/03/2011] Origins of Tooth Brush
The Babylonians are probably the earliest civilization who made use of the earliest tooth brush during the early 3500 BC. They referred to this as “chewingsticks”. On the other side, Greeks and Romans described the use of primitive toothpicks which were used to help clean their mouth and teeth.
After several years, these so called “chewsticks” which has the size of a modern pencil became what we now know as toothpicks with a little variation on the modern toothpick which we currently use. One of the end was chewed into which closely resembles the softened brush like toothbrush which we now use while the opposite end remains pointed and is used to clean food and debris from between the person’s teeth. These twigs were made from carefully chosen aromatic trees which have cleaning and mouth freshening abilities. Nevertheless, Chinese literature which dates as far back as 1600 BC reveals the use of these aromatic twigs even in the Eastern civilization.
The Chinese Toothbrush
Trade route from the west to the east and vice versa has emerged during the 15th century thus several Chinese products were revealed in the eyes of the Europeans. One of the interesting products they have traded is a toothbrush made from the hairs of a neck of a Siberian wild board that were attached to a bamboo or bone handle. Nevertheless, people soon found these wild boar hairs to be too stiff so they preferred the use of horse hair that are a lot softer in comparison with those of wild boar.
European Toothbrush
Back in Europe, it has been customary amongst its citizens to clean their teeth every after meal with the use of a goose feather toothpick or that which is made of copper of silver. Nevertheless in the 17th and 18th century, the first mass production of toothbrush was done under the supervision of William Addis of Clerkenwald, England. Manufacturers carved out the handles out of cattle bones while natural bristle heads were attached through bored holes that are made into the bone and kept in place with the use of the thin wire. The natural bristles which it used were made from neck and shoulder hairs of the swine especially those which live in colder climates like China and Siberia.
American Toothbrush
The Americans soon followed mass production of toothbrushes in the year 1885 made by the Florence Manufacturing Company of Massachusetts wherein they sold pre-packaged toothbrushes in boxes. Soon, Wallace H. Carotheters invented nylon and this became the new material of the modern toothbrush which we are now enjoying today.
