It’s those simple things we use every day that I often wonder about how they got started. The toothbrush is one of those. There are several schools of thought on it, but you need to look far into the past for the first signs of oral hygiene.
The Chinese were believed to create the first real toothbrush, but it wasn’t much like the ones we use today. Those first toothbrushes, crafted in the 1400s, didn’t use nylon for bristles, or plastic for the handles. Instead, the handles were crafted from bamboo, one of the most readily-available regional plants. Attached to the bamboo handle was a set of bristles, taken from the tough hair of the Siberian wild boar — specifically, from the back of his neck. This toothbrush is the ancestor of all the brands we use today.
But there’s evidence that another form of toothbrush dates up to 3000 years before the birth of Christ. So the history of the toothbrush proves that this version was one of the oldest tools used by man, only truly outdated by the wheel. This style of toothbrush, crafted from sticks, was found inside Egyptian pyramids. Unlike the Chinese version, the end of the stick was flayed, softening the wood fibers. The user then rubbed the stick against his teeth. But this version wasn’t as popular as the Chinese type — it didn’t catch on.
The Chinese version spread to Europe, where the Siberian wild boar took the brunt of its growing popularity. The only downside to the hairs of the Siberian wild boar was the fact that they were very rough on the gums. So some people began to use the hairs found on the backs of horses instead, as this was much easier on their gums. Despite the softness of the horse hair bristles, boar hairs were more popular, since horses were so valuable to Europeans.
The boar hair toothbrush continued to be used until the early 1900s. In 1937, Wallace H. Carothers, a DuPont chemist, created nylon. This invention forever changed the history of the toothbrush, as well as every other device that required a fibrous material, including ropes. In 1938, nylon became synonymous with “modern,” from the creation of nylon stockings to Dr. West’s first nylon toothbrush. This brush was called Dr. West’s Miracle Toothbrush.
Even with this breakthrough in the toothbrush, it wasn’t until World War II that Americans began to take oral hygiene more seriously, as a direct result of the war. This influence spurred the development of even better toothbrushes.
Now, there are tons of options, including electric/motorized toothbrushes. My favorite is the Oral-B Triumph that has Bluetooth technology. It has a little digital display that sits on the counter and when the toothbrush turns on, the digital display tells you where to brush and for how long. This way there is no cheating.
And here I thought the toothbrush was invented in Maine. Why? Because if it was invented anywhere else it would have been called the teethbrush. Just kidding, those from Maine. In fact, I think one of my patients from Maine actually told me that joke.