page_title: Toothbrush
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Toothbrush / History
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Die Pariserin bei ihrer Toilette; Die Toilette einer eleganten Pariserin ist ein sehr wichtiges Geschäft, das mit aller Sorgfalt und unter Widmung des gehörigen Zeitaufwandes besorgt werden will. An dem guten Willen fehlt es nie, denn die Toilette war seit jeher eine Lieblingsbeschäftigung der Pariserin und ist es bis zu dem heutigen Tag geblieben. Unsere Abbildungen lassen einige der wesentlichsten Phasen der Toilette verfolgen, von dem Augenblicke, wo die Pariserin zu ihrem Waschtisch tritt, um ihr Schönheitswerk zu beginnen, bis zu dem Schluss, den die Anlegung des Perlenhalsbandes bezeichnet. Man frage nicht, wie lange die Vollendung des Kunstwerkes gedauert, als welches die Toilette einer Pariserin sich darstellt.
context_page_description: A toothbrush is an oral hygiene instrument used to clean the teeth, gums, and tongue. It consists of a head of tightly clustered bristles, atop of which toothpaste can be applied, mounted on a handle which facilitates the cleaning of hard-to-reach areas of the mouth. They are usually used alongside floss.
  They are available with different bristle textures, sizes, and forms. Most dentists recommend using a soft toothbrush since hard-bristled toothbrushes can damage tooth enamel and irritate the gums.
  Because many common and effective ingredients in toothpaste are harmful if swallowed in large doses and instead should be spat out, the act of brushing teeth is most often done at a sink within the kitchen or bathroom, where the brush may be rinsed off afterwards to remove any debris remaining and then dried to reduce conditions ideal for germ growth.
  Many toothbrushes have wooden handles, often bamboo. However, numerous others are made of cheap plastic; such brushes constitute a significant source of pollution. Over 1 billion toothbrushes are disposed of into landfills annually in the United States alone. Bristles are commonly made of nylon or bamboo viscose.
context_section_description: Before the invention of the toothbrush, a variety of oral hygiene measures had been used. This has been verified by excavations during which tree twigs, bird feathers, animal bones and porcupine quills were recovered.
  The predecessor of the toothbrush is the chew stick. Chew sticks were twigs with frayed ends used to brush the teeth while the other end was used as a toothpick. The earliest chew sticks were discovered in Sumer in southern Mesopotamia in 3500 BC, an Egyptian tomb dating from 3000 BC, and mentioned in Chinese records dating from 1600 BC. The Greeks and Romans used toothpicks to clean their teeth, and toothpick-like twigs have been excavated in Qin Dynasty tombs. Chew sticks remain common in Africa, the rural Southern United States, and in the Islamic world the use of chewing stick miswak is considered a pious action and has been prescribed to be used before every prayer five times a day. Miswaks have been used by Muslims since 7th century. Twigs of Neem Tree have been used by ancient Indians. In fact, even today, Neem twigs called 'Datun' are used for brushing teeth in India, although not hugely common.
  The first bristle toothbrush resembling the modern one was found in China. Used during the Tang Dynasty (619–907), it consisted of hog bristles. The bristles were sourced from hogs living in Siberia and northern China because the colder temperatures provided firmer bristles. They were attached to a handle manufactured from bamboo or bone, forming a toothbrush. In 1223, Japanese Zen master Dōgen Kigen recorded in his Shōbōgenzō that he saw monks in China clean their teeth with brushes made of horsetail hairs attached to an oxbone handle. The bristle toothbrush spread to Europe, brought from China to Europe by travellers. It was adopted in Europe during the 17th century. The earliest identified use of the word toothbrush in English was in the autobiography of Anthony Wood who wrote in 1690 that he had bought a toothbrush from J. Barret. Europeans found the hog bristle toothbrushes imported from China too firm and preferred softer bristle toothbrushes made from horsehair. Mass-produced toothbrushes made with horse or boar bristle continued to be imported to Britain from China until the mid 20th century.
  In the UK, William Addis is believed to have produced the first mass-produced toothbrush in 1780. In 1770, he had been jailed for causing a riot. While in prison he decided that using a rag with soot and salt on the teeth was ineffective and could be improved. After saving a small bone from a meal, he drilled small holes into the bone and tied into the bone tufts of bristles that he had obtained from one of the guards, passed the tufts of bristle through the holes in the bone and sealed the holes with glue. After his release, he became wealthy after starting a business manufacturing toothbrushes. He died in 1808, bequeathing the business to his eldest son. It remained within family ownership until 1996. Under the name Wisdom Toothbrushes, the company now manufactures 70 million toothbrushes per year in the UK. By 1840 toothbrushes were being mass-produced in Britain, France, Germany, and Japan. Pig bristles were used for cheaper toothbrushes and badger hair for the more expensive ones.
  Hertford Museum in Hertford, UK, holds approximately 5000 brushes that make up part of the Addis Collection. The Addis factory on Ware Road was a major employer in the town until 1996. Since the closure of the factory, Hertford Museum has received photographs and documents relating to the archive, and collected oral histories from former employees.
  The first patent for a toothbrush was granted to H.N. Wadsworth in 1857 (U.S.A. Patent No. 18,653) in the United States, but mass production in the United States did not start until 1885. The improved design had a bone handle with holes bored into it for the Siberian boar hair bristles. Unfortunately, animal bristle was not an ideal material as it retained bacteria, did not dry efficiently and the bristles often fell out. In addition to bone, handles were made of wood or ivory. In the U
caption: A photo from 1899 showing the use of a toothbrush.
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