TOOTHBRUSH: 3000 B. C. EGYPT

A "chew stick," a pencil-size twig with one end frayed to a soft, fibrous condition, provided the first toothbursh. Chew sticks were initially rubbed against the teeth with no additional abrasive such as toothpaste, and have been found in Egyptian tombs dating to 3000 B.C.
     Chew sticks are still used in some areas of the world. Some African tribes fray twigs only from a certain tree, the Salvadore persica, or "toothbrush tree." The American Dental Associaton discovered that frayed sticks often serve as toothbrushes for people in remote areas of the United States; in the South, they're known as "twig brushes." Dentists reported on one elderly man near Shreveport, LA, who had used frayed white elm sticks all his life and had plaque-free teeth and healthy gums.

     The first bristle toothbrush, similar to today's, originated in China about 1498. The bristles, hand plucked from the backs of the necks of hogs living in the colder climates of Siberia and China (frigid weather causes hogs to grow firmer bristles), were fastened into handles of bamboo or bone. Traders to the Orient introduced the Chinese toothbrush to Europeans, who found hog bristles too irritatingly firm.
     At that time, Europeans who brushed their teeth (an uncommon practice) preferred softer horsehair toothbrushes. The father of modern dentistry, Dr. Pierre Fauchard, gives the first detailed account of the toothbrush in Europe. In a 1723 dental textbook, he is critical of the ineffectiveness of horsehair brushes for being too soft, and more crititcal of the large portion of the population who never, on only infrequently, practiced any kind of dental hygiene. Fauchard recommended daily vigorous rubbing of teeth and gums with a small piece of natural sponge.
     Toothbrushes made of other animal hair, such as badger, experienced brief popularity. Many people preferred to pick their teeth clean after a meal with a stiff quill (as the Romans did), or to use specially manufactured brass or silver toothpicks. These metal toothpicks were less hazardous than hard natural-hair toothbrushes. Once the 19th Century French bacteriologist Louis Pasteur posted his theory of germs, the dental profession realized all anamial-hair toothbrushes, which retain moisture, eventually accumulate microscopic bacterial and fungal growth and could cause mouth infections. Nylon-bristle toothbrushes did not arrive until 1938 in the U.S.