Who invented the toothbrush and when was it invented?
The toothbrush as we know it today was not invented until 1938. However, early forms of the toothbrush have been in existence since 3000 BC. Ancient civilizations used a "chew stick," which was a thin twig with a frayed end. These 'chew sticks' were rubbed against the teeth.
The bristle toothbrush, similar to the type used today, was not invented until 1498 in China. 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.
Boar bristles were used until 1938, when nylon bristles were introduced by Dupont de Nemours. The first nylon toothbrush was called Doctor West's Miracle Toothbrush. Later, Americans were influenced by the disciplined hygiene habits of soldiers from World War II. They became increasingly concerned with the practice of good oral hygiene and quickly adopted the nylon toothbrush.
Some other interesting toothbrush facts:
The first mass-produced toothbrush was made by William Addis of Clerkenwald, England, around 1780.
The first American to patent a toothbrush was H. N. Wadsworth on Nov. 7, 1857.
Mass production of toothbrushes began in America around 1885.
One of the first electric toothbrushes to hit the American market was in 1960. It was marketed by the Squibb company under the name Broxodent.
Notes:
twig – прутик, гілочка
frayed - пошарпаний, потріпаний; поторсаний; пом’ятий
hog – кабан
boar – хряк
stiff – жорсткий, негнучкий
coarse – грубий
OVERVIEW
Dentistry is not very old branch of medicine bit its roots came from the early years of existing of the human being. It is known that prehistoric man suffered from the same dental diseases as people do nowadays. The first mention about toothache was found in Mesopotamia. Ancient Greek scholars Hippocrates and Aristotle wrote about dental diseases and their treatment. During the Middle Ages and throughout the 19th century, dentistry was not a profession in itself. In the 17th century French physician Pierre Fauchard started dentistry science as we know it today, and he has been named "the father of modern dentistry". Dentistry has seen a great deal of innovation over the past 100 years, such as porcelain jacket crown, Novocain discovery, tooth brush with synthetic nylon bristles, water fluoridation and many others. With the advent of the 20th century dentistry continued to progress on many fronts including technology, oral hygiene, preventive dentistry and dental education.
Careers in Dentistry