1498 The toothbrush appeared in China. So who invented the toothbrush?! The most exotic toothbrush options

I want to get a direct and clear answer to everything. For example, who invented the toothbrush, first name, last name, number (more precisely), country, and how was it? It wasn't there. Even in ancient times, people used toothpicks made of wood and bone to clean food from their teeth.

Already in ancient Egypt, there were toothpick sticks, pointed at one end and fluffy at the other. The teeth were rubbed with this natural panicle, and special compounds were rubbed into the gums. In Babylon, Greece, Rome, oral hygiene was also quite developed, which included cleaning the teeth, chewing fibrous plants and rubbing the gums. In Arab countries, methods of chewing plants with disinfectant properties have long been known. In India, chewing sprigs of the neem tree are still sold today. Friction on the fibers of the twig cleans the teeth, while the juice disinfects and strengthens the teeth and gums. So chewing gum has a long history. About toothpaste written in Egyptian papyrus. It consisted of crushed and mixed salt, pepper, mint leaves and iris flowers.

But for some reason, the invention of the toothbrush has recently been stubbornly attributed to the Chinese. Moreover, not only the year is called, but also a specific date - June 28, 1497. But what exactly did the Chinese invent? Apparently a composite brush, where pig bristles were attached to a bamboo stick. In Russia in the 16th century, similar "dental panicles" were also known, consisting of a wooden stick and a panicle of pig bristles. These inventions were brought to Russia from Europe, where horsehair panicles, badger bristles, etc. were used with pig panicles. And when the court dentist Pierre Fauchard instilled in Louis XV a love of brushing his teeth, toothbrushes became popular.

Pierre Fauchard. Louis XV

The production of cheap toothbrushes, of course, was established by the British in 1780 - William Addis. Again, of course, the first patent for a toothbrush was obtained by the American H. N. Wadsworth in 1850. The brush was hog bristle, and the trick of the patent was to secure the bristles well to the bone handle. By that time, they had learned to detect bacteria and it turned out that there was a cavity in the vaunted pig bristle and bacteria multiply perfectly there.

The real revolution came in 1938 when DuPont replaced animal bristles with synthetic nylon bristles and no bacteria incubator cavities. The first electric toothbrush was introduced in 1959. In the mid-90s, a toothbrush was proposed that cleans not only with bristles, but also with ultrasound.

In January 2003, Americans named the toothbrush the number one invention they could not live without. Car, computer, cell phone, microwave - rest. This is how expensive it is to treat teeth in the USA. There is also a monument to a toothbrush six meters high. It has been standing in the German city of Krefeld since 1983.

A toothbrush is an indispensable thing in the daily life of every person, from babies who have just erupted their first tooth, to almost toothless old people. This is indeed a simple and important attribute, since it helps to clean the oral cavity of food debris, plaque, prevent the growth of bacteria and, consequently, many dental problems. Such a simple and uncomplicated thing plays such an important role in human life.

Who invented the brush? Who invented it? Finding answers is not so easy, since the issue of oral and dental hygiene was relevant in ancient times, and even then people somehow adapted to brush their teeth with improvised means. Thousands of years have passed since then, the toothbrush has evolved to the one we use, although science has moved on, and brush manufacturers do not stop modernizing and improving them.

How did you brush your teeth before the advent of brushing?

People started caring for their teeth long before our era. Initially, it was a simple bunch of grass, with which the ancient inhabitants tried to clean their teeth from the remnants of food. This device was not very convenient, and ineffective. Some peoples used wooden sticks, the end of which was chewed to make something like a brush, after which they cleaned their teeth from plaque with this device.

They tried to clean their teeth from food debris with a specially pointed end of a wooden stick (something like a modern toothpick). For this, only those tree species were used that contained essential oils that not only have a pleasant smell, but also antibacterial properties. This historical fact is confirmed by historians who have studied the written materials of Ancient Egypt.

Some African natives still use such toothbrushes, which they make themselves from salvador branches. In some countries of America, branches of white elm were used for this purpose. Some peoples did not use such sophisticated devices for cleaning their teeth, they chewed resin and beeswax, which, at least a little, but removed food debris and plaque.

To increase the effectiveness of primitive toothbrushes, the Drevlyans began to invent special cleaning powders. In ancient Egypt, crushed herbs (frankincense, myrrh), eggshells, tree bark and other substances were used for this.

Such powders, although they cleaned the teeth more thoroughly, were merciless with respect to tooth enamel, because they contained too many abrasive particles. The inhabitants of ancient India solved this issue in their own way - they burned the horns of cattle and used this ashes as a tooth cleaning powder.

When was the toothbrush invented?

More or less remotely resembling a modern toothbrush, a device appeared only in 1498. It was invented by the Chinese, who came up with the idea of ​​making a small handle from a bamboo branch and somehow attaching the stiff bristles of a Siberian boar to it. This brush has been used without the use of paste or scouring powder. Each bristle was for selection - they were taken only from the ridge of the animal, where there was the rough and tough bristle itself. The principle of attaching the handle to the bristles also differed from the modern one - if now the brush is parallel to the handle, then it was perpendicular. Such an invention quickly became popular, and they began to export it to neighboring countries, including Russia.

In European countries, a toothbrush was not accepted at first, because at that time oral hygiene, like the whole body, was not mandatory, so the use of a brush was considered something indecent, blatant and unworthy action of an aristocrat. Closer to the middle of the seventeenth century, hygiene began to slowly take root in the circles of the aristocracy, and the toothbrush rightfully gained ground.

In European countries, the bristles were taken not from the spine of a boar, but from a horse's tail, but they were considered too soft to fully fulfill their function. Pork bristles were also not wanted to be used for brushing teeth, as they could injure the gums and teeth.

Many more years have passed since the scientists of that time came to the conclusion that the remnants of food and plaque, which are cleaned with a brush, to one degree or another remain among the bristles, where pathogenic bacteria then multiply. They suggested boiling the toothbrush after each use, which caused the natural bristles of this tool to wear out quickly.

Fifty years later, when this problem was finally solved, a synthetic material called nylon was invented, which became the starting point for the appearance of modern toothbrushes.

The appearance of the first brushes in Russia

In Russia, the first devices for brushing teeth appeared during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. The toothbrush came to the territory of Russia from China. It was the same bamboo stick with boar bristles attached, but the Russians did not much like the stiffness of natural boar bristles, and they began to use hairs from a horse's tail.

A toothbrush, or, as it was then called, a “tooth broom”, was used only by some noble nobles, while the rest did fine without this device. Poor peasants brushed their teeth with charcoal, more often from birch, which not only helped to get rid of plaque, but also perfectly whitened tooth enamel.

When the reins of government after several generations passed to Peter I, he gave the order to stop using the “tooth broom” with natural bristles and replace it with a rag with a pinch of crushed chalk. This happened at a time when Louis Pasteur suggested that the cause of all diseases lies precisely in the toothbrush, since there is always a humid environment where microorganisms actually multiply, which provoke various diseases. Villagers and servants still used charcoal.

The evolution of the brush - dimensions and characteristics

If in ancient times people cleaned their teeth of food debris with various twigs made of trees with pointed or crushed ends, and a little later with a special device made of a wooden stick with an attached bunch of animal bristles, then in our time a toothbrush comes in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials.

It is impossible to single out the best among modern brushes, since here it is necessary to take into account the individual characteristics of each person. For some, one brush will be the most practical and functional, but for some it will be too hard and uncomfortable. Fortunately, in our time there are plenty to choose from.

Modern toothbrushes can be divided into the following types:

• Standard - a classic simple device for cleaning teeth and oral cavity, which consists of a handle and bristles, may differ in shape (for children, the bristle width on a toothbrush should not exceed 18 millimeters, for adults - 30 mm). Such a brush should be chosen taking into account its main characteristic - the stiffness of the bristles, which can be soft, medium hard and hard.
• Electric - a toothbrush that runs on batteries or an accumulator. It is distinguished by a small area of ​​bristles, as a rule, of a round shape, which rotates, vibrates, thanks to which it cleans even the most hidden corners of the mouth and teeth.
• Ionic - a device for brushing teeth is similar in appearance to a conventional toothbrush, but has installed batteries, due to which the ionization function is activated during brushing. Inside the bristles is a negatively charged titanium dioxide rod, which, when interacting with water, attracts bacteria and other microorganisms found in plaque, and also activates the acidic effect on the microflora.
• Ultrasonic - a brush that uses ultrasound to affect microorganisms in the mouth. It is a kind of electric. It perfectly removes any dirt, cleans food debris and prevents the formation of tartar.

There are a huge number of different shapes of handles and the working part of toothbrushes, so you can choose exactly the brush that is suitable for a particular person, taking into account the characteristics of his teeth, gums and other factors.

The bundles of the working part of toothbrushes can differ in characteristics - in shape, along the length of the pile, they can be large and short, hard and soft, thin and thick. There are also toothbrushes with silicone bristles on the edges of the working surface for easy gum massage. Also, toothbrushes can have different sizes and shapes of the handle, which can be straight, flat, curved, spoon-shaped, medium, large.

A toothbrush is an indispensable personal hygiene accessory that everyone has, including babies in their first year of life. A toothbrush is necessary to clean the teeth of food debris and microbes, massage the gums and stimulate blood circulation in the tissues surrounding the tooth and bone alveoli. The history of the toothbrush dates back many centuries - the first mention of devices for brushing teeth dates back to primitive times. Ancient people used bamboo sprigs and pieces of propolis to remove the remnants of meat and rough plant food from the space between the teeth. The first brush, vaguely reminiscent of modern products, was created in China in 1498.

How did you brush your teeth before the advent of toothbrushes?

Our ancestors in Russia used various means of organic origin to clean their teeth and freshen their breath. Peasants from poor families used bunches of meadow herbs for this purpose, which have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Sprigs of thyme, stalks of calendula and sage were especially popular. In order for the breath to become fresh and the tooth enamel smooth, it was enough to chew these herbs for 3-5 minutes. It is noteworthy that this procedure was used mainly only after eating - it was not customary to brush your teeth in the morning and before going to bed.

Wealthier families used propolis, also called bee glue, to get rid of food debris. Propolis has a resinous texture, yellow, brown or marsh hue and a bitter aftertaste with a characteristic honey aroma. Bees use propolis to cover cracks in hives and disinfect cells, so the product has pronounced antimicrobial, bactericidal and antiseptic properties. The use of propolis for cleansing the oral cavity provided a pronounced therapeutic and hygienic effect, so this method of brushing teeth has been popular for a long time.

Properties of propolis in oral hygiene:

• for a long time gives the breath freshness and a pleasant honey aroma;
• stops bleeding gums, strengthens the walls of capillaries and blood vessels;
• whitens tooth enamel, prevents deposits and plaque;
• disinfects the oral cavity, destroys pathogenic microorganisms (fungus, microbes, bacteria);
• provides prevention of demineralization of tooth enamel due to the content of a large amount of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, fluorine and other elements necessary for healthy teeth.

Propolis and other bee products were also actively used by representatives of the royal court, courtiers, wealthy nobles. People close to the king also often used ground raisins for brushing their teeth. In those days, raisins were considered a very expensive product, and even wealthy peasants could not afford to use it for purposes other than eating. To give the teeth a pearl color and shine, it was enough to grind 20 g of light or dark raisins and rub the teeth with this mixture from all sides.

Myrrh - resin from the island of Socotra

A less popular but also effective remedy for removing food residue from the surface of the teeth and gums was myrrh. This is a resin that is extracted from the parenchyma of the African or Arabian myrrh tree. It was quite expensive, so it was not very common in Russia.

Table. What other materials were used for brushing teeth before the advent of toothbrushes in Russia.

The appearance of the first toothbrush in Russia

The appearance of the first toothbrushes in Russia is associated with the reign of Ivan the Terrible (1547-1584). The product itself appeared much earlier - in June 1498. The first toothbrush was made in China on June 25, which is considered the day of the appearance of toothbrushes all over the world. The first products were made from natural materials that were subject to climatic and mechanical stress and did not have the necessary consumer characteristics to allow mass production to be launched.

The handles of the first Chinese brushes were made of stone or bamboo wood. In the manufacture of bristles, pig hair was used. This material did not take root in Russia due to harsh climatic conditions. During transportation and storage at low temperatures, pig hair became very hard and scratched the mucous membranes of the gums, causing bleeding and pain.

This is interesting! The first brushes were called "tooth panicles". 5-7 years after the first toothbrushes with pig hair bristles appeared in Russia, local craftsmen learned how to make horse bristle brushes - in terms of consumer properties, it significantly surpassed products made from pig hair, was softer and more durable.

Wealthy families could afford to buy badger bristle toothbrushes - not only did it not injure the gums, but it also massaged soft tissues, providing a healing effect.

What was the reason for the temporary ban on the use of toothbrushes?

During the reign of Peter the Great (1682-1725), dental panicles were banned. The king's court physician suggested that the moisture remaining on the surface of the bristles after using the panicle is an excellent breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria and microbes and can cause various infectious diseases. Tooth whisks were immediately declared unsafe items and their use banned by government decree. Brushing your teeth was allowed only with chalk, plaster, coal or precious metals - primarily gold. For non-compliance with the decree, very harsh penalties were introduced, providing for the arrest of existing property and imprisonment for up to 5 years.

The decree was canceled only in the 18th century, when the era of the reign of Peter the Great ended.

First manufacturer of toothbrushes

The first brush produced at a specialized production (not only in Russia, but also in the world) is a product of the Addis brand. Later, the mass production of products from various materials began in other European countries. The leaders in the years 1840-1845 in the production of toothbrushes were Germany, France and the Czech Republic. It was these countries that provided the bulk of supplies to Russia. By the way, raw materials for the production of bristles were supplied to these factories from China and Russia.

After a few decades, natural fibers were replaced by artificial materials, which had a large number of advantages over products with natural bristles. These benefits include:

• longer service life;
• resistance to temperature changes and mechanical stress;
• hypoallergenicity (an allergic reaction often appeared on products made from natural fibers);
• pronounced hygienic properties.

Fact! In synthetic fibers, pathogenic microorganisms practically cannot multiply (which cannot be said about natural wool), therefore, since 1938, all enterprises began to produce products with artificial pile.

When did the electric toothbrush appear in Russia?

The first electric toothbrush appeared in Switzerland around 1938-1939. It took the developers more than 20 years to improve the model and put it on sale. In 1961, electrical products became available in Russia, which were not very convenient to use, so within two years a battery-powered brush appeared on the market.

Swiss Philippe-Guy Voog, inventor of the electric toothbrush

To date, there are many varieties of such products. Particularly popular are electronic brushes of the brand with a rotating head, which allows you to ensure the absolute cleanliness of the oral cavity by penetrating into the most inaccessible places. The Japanese went even further - they created a brush with a video camera on which the entire process of brushing your teeth is recorded. A person can view the recording and track which places are poorly processed during brushing. Such brushes are not popular in Russia because of the very high cost - the price of one product can reach up to 5-7 thousand rubles.

Non-standard use of a toothbrush in Russia

When toothbrushes (or toothbrushes) only began to appear in Russia, they were not popular and many continued to brush their teeth in the old proven ways. During this period, the inhabitants of the country found many applications for an unusual adaptation, many of which were very successful. For example, girls used natural bristle brushes to comb their eyebrows and give them a beautiful shape. Brushes were actively used for applying blush, exfoliating the skin of the lips, and distributing nourishing therapeutic formulations through the hair.

During washing, products with natural pile helped to remove stubborn stains from berries, fat, grass, coffee beans. Women who belonged to the royal court used dental whisks to adjust strands and create hairstyles.

Toothbrushes have a centuries-old history that began long before the official appearance of the first product that resembles a modern toothbrush.

Now it is a familiar accessory for oral hygiene, but there was a time when toothbrushes were banned, and their use was punishable by a long arrest or seizure of all acquired property.

Video - How toothbrushes appeared

It is unlikely that historians will be able to more or less accurately answer the question of when the first toothbrush appeared, since this event took place in those ancient times, about which only meager and fragmentary information has been preserved. It is known that a few millennia ago people tried to solve the problems associated with oral hygiene with the help of improvised means, but before the toothbrush took on the shape so familiar to us, it had come a long evolutionary path. We will only mention its main stages.

Toothbrushes of the ancient Assyrians

In the reports of the British archaeological expedition, which conducted excavations in 1892 on the territory of the ancient Assyrian kingdom, there is one curious entry. It says that, among other artifacts, fossilized from time to time, but well-preserved wooden sticks, one end of which was pointed and the other macerated like a brush, were extracted from the earth. After a comprehensive study of the find, scientists concluded that they were nothing but samples of the first toothbrushes.

It turns out that the subjects of King Ashurbanipal and other legendary rulers of Assyria took care of the hygiene of their own mouths. This is evidenced by the objects found during the excavations. Their pointed ends served as a kind of toothpicks - they removed food debris from the mouth. The opposite end of this "first toothbrush" was used in a very peculiar way: it was simply chewed, removing plaque with the help of coarse wood fibers.

Discoveries made in Egypt, India, Iran and other parts of the world

Somewhat later, exactly the same devices for putting things in order in the mouth were discovered during excavations of ancient Egyptian tombs. As you know, pharaohs and other noble persons were sent to the afterlife, providing everything necessary for a worthy stay there. This is probably why the sticks described above, which are considered to be the first toothbrushes, were found in burials among weapons, jewelry, magnificent dresses and other things, without which the deceased is ashamed to appear in a decent society.

A more detailed study of the issue showed that similar devices were used in ancient times by the peoples who inhabited the territories of China, Iran and India. For their manufacture, mastic wood was used, and in some cases bronze or even gold. And the information received from the members of the expeditions who studied the life of the tribes inhabiting the hard-to-reach areas of Central Africa was a complete surprise. As it turned out, they are very zealous about oral hygiene and to this day they use exactly the same sticks chewed at one end as the inhabitants of long-disappeared civilizations.

Invention of the ancient Chinese

As mentioned above, historians can only roughly indicate the era in which people began to clean up their mouths by chewing special sticks, but it is known exactly when and where the first toothbrush appeared. Reviews, or rather, evidence of this event have been preserved in the ancient Chinese chronicles of the late 15th century. From them it is clear that in June 1498 a certain wise man had the idea to make a very close analogue of a modern brush. He attached a strip of pig bristle to a bamboo handle and publicly demonstrated his invention.

His "technical development" was a success with compatriots and was, as they say today, put into mass production. Brush handles were made not only from bamboo, but also from bone, ceramics and various other metals. Only the porcine bristle hedgehog remained unchanged, which, by the way, had a very big drawback: in the cold it became stiff and injured the gums. For this reason, when the first toothbrushes were brought from China to Europe, pig bristles were replaced with more suitable short-cut horsehair.

Historical facts that cannot be denied

To the shame of "enlightened Europe", it should be noted that toothbrushes took root in it with great difficulty. It is known that even in the Renaissance (XV-XVI centuries), taking care of hygiene, not only of the mouth, but of the whole body, was considered completely unnecessary. Moreover, for a true aristocrat, it was an unworthy and even humiliating business. Court ladies drowned out the bad smell by pouring streams of expensive perfumes on themselves (this was especially true on critical days). Men simply did not pay attention to such trifles.

Only by the middle of the 17th century did the Europeans gradually assimilate the truth, formulated three centuries later by Moidodyr, and realized that "it is necessary, it is necessary to wash in the mornings and evenings." At the same time, a toothbrush, imported from China and considered until then only an exotic curiosity, became widespread among them.

Tooth brooms from the time of Ivan the Terrible

At the same time, to the credit of our compatriots, it should be noted that in Russia personal hygiene was taken much more seriously, and much earlier than Europeans they came to the conclusion that “unclean chimney sweeps are shame and disgrace.” Suffice it to recall the Russian baths, so loved by the people and categorically rejected by strangers.

For this reason, the first toothbrushes were widely used in Rus' almost a hundred years earlier than in Europe. It happened in the middle of the XVI century, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. By the way, despite the outward resemblance to Chinese samples, they were developed by domestic craftsmen and were thin wooden sticks, at the ends of which bunches of the same pig bristles were attached. These designs were called dental brooms.

They operated in the mouths of our ancestors until the middle of the 19th century and lost their positions only after the educated Russian public was imbued with the ideas of Louis Pasteur that the moisture remaining on the brush is a favorable environment for the development of pathogenic microbes. It was decided that it was not safe to brush your teeth, and for some time the Russians abandoned this activity.

The first attempts at industrial production of toothbrushes

In the meantime, Europe in matters of hygiene has successfully made up for what it missed earlier. In 1840, the first industrial toothbrushes appeared on the shelves of Western stores. Their manufacturer was the British company Addis. The enterprising British bought bristles in Russia and China.

Continuing the conversation about how toothbrushes conquered the world, we should name a few more dates that have become epochal in this process. So, in 1938, the same British tried to replace natural pig bristles with synthetic fibers, but failed. At that time, there was no artificial material with the necessary elasticity, and the one that was available injured the gums.

Before the first use, the toothbrush had to be softened for a long time in boiling water, but then the fibers hardened again, and everything was repeated anew. As a result, the novelty was abandoned, and its release was resumed only in 1950, after the chemical industry began to produce the necessary material.

Further improvement of brush design

In the same year, 1938, another curious event took place. One obscure Swedish company tried to produce the world's first electric toothbrushes, but, like the British, failed. Potential users were curious about the new invention, but they were in no hurry to take the mains-powered mechanism into their mouths. It wasn't until the early 1960s that battery-powered reciprocating electric toothbrushes took over the market. A little later, they were improved and received the well-known today rotating heads.

Scientific and technological progress, which is moving at an ever-increasing speed these days, has also affected the developments related to the production of more and more new models of toothbrushes. Their designs sometimes exceed the wildest fantasies. For example, the Japanese company Panasonic once again surprised the world by releasing a toothbrush with a video camera built into it. This innovation allows the user to visually inspect the most inaccessible areas of the oral cavity and clean them thoroughly.

Baby brushes

Today, the production of toothbrushes has become a powerful global industry, which has its own leaders and outsiders. This is not surprising, since washing and brushing your teeth is a mandatory procedure that every self-respecting person performs every day. He must instill the same skills in his children. To this end, brush manufacturers produce a wide range of products designed for the smallest consumers.

An example of such care for children is the Lubby toothbrush, which is put on the finger - the first of those that a little man who has come to this world will meet. It is designed for a baby at the age of about four months, whose teeth are just beginning to cut. This simple device, in which the mother's finger is the main component, can be replaced by another toothbrush - “Aquafresh. My first tooth." It is equipped with a handle and is very similar to those used by parents themselves, but, unlike them, is equipped with an unusually soft bristle, which excludes the possibility of damage to delicate children's gums.

Brushing your teeth turned into a fun game

In general, manufacturers approach the manufacture of this type of goods with special responsibility, since the impression the first toothbrush makes on the baby largely determines his further attitude to washing and all other hygiene procedures. It is understandable. The first use of a toothbrush should in no case be associated with pain or any other kind of discomfort.

It is best if brushing your teeth is perceived by the child as a fun game with mom. That is why toothbrushes for the first teeth are often produced in the form of little animals, birds, insects, etc. They are presented in stores in a fairly wide range.

Types of first toothbrushes for children: sizes

As a rule, all manufacturers of this product label their products, indicating on it what age it is intended for. If there are no such marks, or their objectivity is in doubt, parents can use the recommendations below.

So, for babies under one year old, it is recommended to purchase brushes equipped with soft silicone bristles. These can be the fingertips mentioned above or the special dental wipes available in most stores. For older children, brushes are designed, the size of which varies as follows: from one year to 2 years, the length of the head is one and a half centimeters, from 2 to 5 years - 2 cm and from 5 to 7 years - 2.5 cm.

Which brush to choose - hard or soft?

In addition to the size of the brush, the degree of its rigidity is of great importance. It must also be indicated on the packaging of the product. For children over 1 year old, with healthy gums and strong tooth enamel, doctors recommend buying harder brushes, as they not only perform their main function during operation, but also massage the child’s gums well. However, care must be taken when using them.

If the gums are weak and prone to bleeding, then the best option would be to purchase a soft brush. In case of doubts that have arisen among parents about the condition of the enamel and gums of the child, you should opt for brushes of medium hardness. It will be, so to speak, a win-win option.

Do you prefer natural or artificial brushes?

And finally, many parents attach great importance to what material the first toothbrush is made of - natural or synthetic. Oddly enough, but most dentists prefer the latter.

• Firstly (and most importantly), harmful bacteria do not multiply in such brushes.
• Secondly, plastic bristles, unlike natural ones, do not break or crumble, leaving small solid particles in the child's mouth.
• And thirdly, brushes made of artificial materials are much more durable than their natural counterparts.

Washing and brushing your teeth is a mandatory hygienic procedure that every civilized and self-respecting person must perform in the mornings and evenings. We instill these skills in our children from an early age. It's no secret that teeth play an important role in the health of our body. Our ancestors knew about this, which means that we owe the appearance of the first toothbrush to them.

The history of the toothbrush dates back to ancient times. In the process of excavation, archaeologists many times found the devices of mankind used to clean their teeth. This is only a confirmation that people have always taken care of oral hygiene. At the very beginning, people used simple sticks to brush their teeth, one end of which was pointed and the other was soaked. The sharp tip was needed in order to clean the mouth of food debris (toothpick principle), and plaque from the teeth helped to remove the second edge (coarse wood fibers) that had to be chewed.

The first such toothpicks became known after they were found in the tombs of Egypt. Some peoples still brush their teeth in this way to this day. Basically, these are tribes whose territory of residence is modern Africa. These sticks are most often made from the bark of salvadora, which has the ability to kill germs and strengthen the gums. Also, the population of Ancient China, India, Iran used toothpicks. For their manufacture, mastic wood, bronze and gold were used.

For the first time, mention of a modern brush can be found in the annals of the 4th-3rd centuries BC. e. At that time, these were dental brooms made from split twigs. The appearance of the first toothbrush falls on June 1498. China is considered its homeland. Brush handles were made from bamboo or bone, and bristles were made from pig hair, which became tougher in cold climates. Therefore, when the brush "arrived" in Europe, its material was not particularly liked by the inhabitants of these countries. Europeans gave preference to horse hair, which they began to use in the manufacture of their brushes.

Under Tsar Ivan the Terrible, sticks were used, on the tips of which bundles of bristles were attached, they were called dental brooms. After Louis Pasteur's suggestion that the cause of many diseases can be pathogenic microbes, for which the moisture remaining on the brush is a favorable environment for development, it was decided that it was rather unsafe to use them for dental health.

And now, the English company Addis becomes the manufacturer of the first toothbrushes in history. Already in 1840, the production of brushes begins in Germany and France. Russia and China become suppliers of bristles for their manufacture.

In 1938, synthetic fibers replaced natural bristles. Too hard at first, they hurt the gums and were therefore improved (1950). DuPont became the new manufacturer. In 1938, the first brush powered by electricity was produced in Switzerland, but it could only appear on sale in the 60s. The appearance of a device powered not by a network, but by energy from a built-in battery falls on 1961. A toothbrush with a spinning head appears a little later.

Speaking about the technology for the production of toothbrushes, one can say that one development is ahead of the other. We are especially pleased with Japanese manufacturers. So Panasonic came up with the idea of ​​creating a brush with a video camera to enable the user to see all the hard-to-reach areas and clean them thoroughly. Having singled out the toothbrush from all the scientific inventions made by man, the Americans put it on a pedestal (January 2003), believing that today's life is impossible without it.