The importance of oral hygiene is even understood by the oldest civilizations. Obviously, there is no limit to the taste of toothpaste or a beautiful electric toothbrush. However, there have been a lot of creative solutions in history.

The most basic dental cleaning tools include chewing bark or worn-out sticks. The first version was discovered in Babylon in 3500 BC. In Greece and the Roman Empire, feathers, bones and even the feathers of porcupines were also used as toothpicks. The first approximation of modern toothbrushes was invented in China at the end of the 14th century, using hard pig hair as the bristles attached to the end of the bamboo pole.

In 1780, a man named William Addis, who was serving a sentence in a British prison, made a toothbrush, the first model of mass production. He drilled a few holes in a small bone left behind after a meal, added a cluster of wild boar hair, and sealed it with glue. When he was released from prison, he began to produce these toothbrushes as a business. His company still operates today in the name of the wise toothbrush.

In 1938, DuPont introduced a nylon brush toothbrush that is still in use today. The first electric toothbrush was invented in Switzerland in 1954.
Like toothpaste

Toothpaste has also undergone many changes and improvements in history. The first known reference to toothpaste was found in the 4th century Egyptian manuscript, which details a mixture of pepper, salt, mint leaves and irises. Ancient toothpaste is made from the ash and charred eggshells of the hooves. Broken bones and oyster shells are favored by Greeks and Romans. Ginseng, mint and salt are favored by Chinese people. Urine is also a surprising basis for early toothpaste formulations.

For modern people, these ingredients seem to be problematic, if not completely disgusting. However, studies of early human teeth often show a lower incidence of tooth decay, probably due to the lack of refined and processed sugar in their diet. But before that, if a tooth is indeed infected, the only treatment is to extract the tooth.

The emergence of mass market toothbrushes naturally stimulated the invention of mass market toothpaste. There are a variety of formulations, most of which are powdered. They usually contain soap, chalk and/or charcoal. Cheese toothpaste, the first bottle of toothpaste, was developed in the 1950s. Although generally available, it is usually manufactured and sold by individual dentists. In 1873, Colgate began producing toothpaste in cans. It wasn't until the 1890s that the foldable metal tube we used today was invented that toothpaste really became a mass market and was easily purchased for the average consumer.