One of the questions asked most by adults and children is how the toothbrush got started. There are several schools of thought on it, but you need to look far into the past for the first signs of oral hygiene.

The Chinese were believed to create the first real toothbrush, but it wasn't much like the ones we use today. Those first toothbrushes, crafted in the 1400s, didn't use nylon for bristles, or plastic for the handles. Instead, the handles were crafted from bamboo, one of the most readily-available regional plants. Attached to the bamboo handle was a set of bristles, taken from the tough hair of the Siberian wild boar -- specifically, from the back of his neck. This toothbrush is the ancestor of all the brands we use today.

But there's evidence that another form of toothbrush dates up to 3000 years before the birth of Christ. So the history of the toothbrush proves that this version was one of the oldest tools used by man, only truly outdated by the wheel. This style of toothbrush, crafted from sticks, was found inside Egyptian pyramids. Unlike the Chinese version, the end of the stick was flayed, softening the wood fibers. The user then rubbed the stick against his teeth. But this version wasn't as popular as the Chinese type -- it didn't catch on.

The Chinese version spread to Europe, where the Siberian wild boar took the brunt of its growing popularity. The only downside to the hairs of the Siberian wild boar was the fact that they were very rough on the gums. So some people began to use the hairs found on the backs of horses instead, as this was much easier on their gums. Despite the softness of the horse hair bristles, boar hairs were more popular, since horses were so valuable to Europeans.

The boar hair toothbrush continued to be used until the early 1900s. In 1937, Wallace H. Carothers, a DuPont chemist, created nylon. This invention forever changed the history of the toothbrush, as well as every other device that required a fibrous material, including ropes. In 1938, nylon became synonymous with "modern," from the creation of nylon stockings to Dr. West's first nylon toothbrush. This brush was called Dr. West's Miracle Toothbrush. Even with this breakthrough in the toothbrush, it wasn't until World War II that Americans began to take oral hygiene more seriously, as a direct result of the war. This influence spurred the development of even better toothbrushes.

Toothpaste & Whiteners
Another important aspect of toothbrush history is toothpaste and other whiteners. These are usually used with the toothbrush in order to make sure the teeth and breath smelled acceptable. The concept of toothpaste and mouth washes is pretty old - almost as old as the Egyptian toothbrush. In fact, the earliest known toothpaste was created by the Egyptians. It was said to contain a drachma of rock salt, two drachmas of mint, one drachma of dried iris flowers and 20 grains of pepper, all crushed and mixed together to form a powder. When mixed with saliva and applied to the teeth, it helped whiten and clean them. An enterprising Australian dentist tried it, and found the mixture worked far better than anything else created until the twenty-first century. The only downside was the fact that it caused his gums to bleed.

In the 18th Century, the next recorded version of toothpaste showed up. This mixture called for dragon's blood, cinnamon and burn alum. This mixture tends to be more of an amusement for many scientists, as there is no proof that "dragon's blood " existed. What may have really been used in place of the "dragon's blood" is unknown.

The 19th Century saw a lot of toothpaste innovations, although many of them would be repulsive compared to what we are used to today. Charcoal, for example, was popular. Most of the toothpastes of this time were powders that became a paste when introduced to saliva. A lot of these different toothpastes were designed to both clean teeth and give the user better breath. This is where the modern idea for toothpaste came from. The combination of these pastes and the toothbrush worked to create cleaner and healthier teeth and gums.

It wasn't until the 1900s that toothpastes evolved into what we know now. Colgate, and many other toothpaste companies, worked to design toothpastes that tasted better while cleaning the teeth, and not causing gums to bleed. Many ingredients now show up in toothpastes, with fluoride being one of the most common. There are a wide variety of "herbal" toothpastes as well, which don't contain any fluoride. The variety of toothpastes available is designed to fit the needs and wants of every type of person out there. This high level of choice is the modern age's primary contribution of toothpastes. While only a few were available as early as the Egyptian days, now there's something for everyone.

The combination of the toothpaste and modern toothbrush gives everyone the oral hygiene and dental health that they need to enjoy the sparkling teeth that so many of us desire. This combination also helps prevent loss of teeth later in life, so that you won't have to resort to dentures. The history of the toothbrush and toothpaste shouldn't be looked at as trivial. The options back then -- and the results of not having our modern options -- were nowhere near as pleasant as the situation today.