The History of Tooth Brushing

About a year ago, I heard an NPR story which erroneously said that tooth brushing was only about 100 years old. Sooooooo wrong. Keeping your teeth clean is not a modern concept, though the advent of tooth paste as we know it is. In actual fact, brushing ones teeth and good oral hygiene has been around for Millennia. Excavations from all over the globe have included little sticks, some chewed to make fibrous and some with bristles, just for the purpose of tooth brushing.

Ancient Egyptians have been notorious for having bad teeth. Sand got in everything, from the bread to the beer, and wore down enamel with the simple act of chewing. Bad breath was treated with honey, of all things. But you know what they did do? Brush teeth. They chewed on the ends of some fibrous plants to make them ‘bristly’ and brushed away. There have been some indications that they may have even used stale urine to brush teeth! Sure it had ammonia, but yikes…

Ancient Rome had a regimented feel to it. Every aspect of life was governed by the right way of doing things. The great thing about Romans is that they recognized ‘the right way’ in the peoples they conquered and Romans were known teeth brushers, just like the Egyptians. They were great historians and record keepers and even the most mundane of details were written down for the good of the Empire. Historical records show that primitive tooth picks were chewed on and used to clean teeth.

Ancient China had their own version of the chewed branch, but in the middle ages they developed a tooth brush with bristles similar to those we use today. Stiff hog hair was apparently great for this, and a variety of things were used in lieu of the modern ‘paste’.

Even in the darkest part of the Dark Ages the people of Europe brushed their teeth. Yep, even in England, and there is ample historical evidence to prove it, not only in archaeological example, but in historical record in the form of recipes. Here’s an article with a whole slew of recipes for stuff for good oral hygiene 

Tooth brushing was considered healthful and hygienic even in times of war. Napoleon Bonaparte regularly used sand powder and opium to brush his teeth with a sliver gilded horse hair brush. Yeah, yuck, but at the time that was the height of oral care. The London Museum of Science has the brush (well, the alleged brush. His name isn’t on it or anything) and you can view a picture at 

The first toothbrushes were mass produced in England in the 1780’s, but it has been around for awhile.

That brings us to the good old U.S. and colonization. A boar’s bristle brush would have been used and perhaps some baking soda after it was available widely and mint leaves have been known to have been chewed for fresh breath. The first patent for a tooth brush in the U.S. and the first mass-production of a tooth-brush both occurred in the 1880s, but things really didn’t get going until the 20th century with the advent of nylon bristles and the first commercial toothpastes as we know them today. (a whole lot more info at +www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/tooth.html if you are into the useless facts that are surprisingly interesting) The rest, as they say, is history.