The purpose of brushing teeth is to clean the mouth, because the mouth is the organ with the most bacteria in the human body. Our ancients, too, began to pay attention to oral health very early.
According to the current archaeological findings, the earliest records of teeth can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty, and the writing of the word "caries" in Oracle Bone Inscriptions was recorded at this time.
In the ancient Book of Songs, it was written that "teeth are like rhinoceros", which means teeth are as white as gourd seeds. Since it can be so white, it is also recorded in the Book of Songs, which shows that the ancients also attached great importance to teeth.
Because there was no toothbrush in ancient times, the cleaning of oral cavity was mainly based on "gargling". The ancients mostly used salt water, tea, water and wine to clean their mouths. Among them, the price of tea is relatively high, so it is mostly used by ancient people with high social status or good economic conditions.
In the Book of Rites: "When a chicken crows at first, it is washed with salt". It is said that the first thing the ancients did after getting up in the morning was to rinse their mouths and wash their faces. This is the earliest record of oral cleaning in history books.
In the Song Dynasty, in order to improve the effect of mouthwash, someone invented a professional mouthwash product made of poria cocos and other medicinal materials, which may be the ancestor of mouthwash.
In addition to gargling, the ancients did not neglect the cleaning of teeth. In the Tang Dynasty, people used to bite Yang Liuzhi to clean their teeth. At that time, people usually soaked one end of Yang Liuzhi in water, and then bit off the Yang Liuzhi when using it, so that the willow fibers inside would be spent, just like tiny wooden comb teeth, which was very convenient to use. There is an old saying that "chewing wood in the morning" comes from this.
It is economical and convenient to use Yang Liuzhi to clean teeth, so it has a broad mass base among the people. It is said that in Buddhism, Yang Liuzhi was soaked in a bottle, and Yang Liuzhi probably represented the symbolic meaning of purity, which was deeply rooted in people's hearts at that time.
In the Tang Dynasty, it was not only popular to use Yang Liuzhi to clean teeth, but also popular to mix it with drugs. In the comprehensive medical book "The Secret of Outer Taiwan" compiled by Wang Tao in the Tang Dynasty, it is recorded that Cimicifuga, Angelica dahurica, Aquilaria Resinatum and other medicinal materials are ground into powder, and then the flat willow head is dipped in the medicinal powder to scrub the teeth.
Ancient books in the Song Dynasty recorded: "The ponytail covered the toothbrush." At that time, the original toothbrushes were all made of ponytails, with an inch-long ponytail tied to the horns. In ancient times, toothbrushes were all made of cow bones. Many small holes were drilled in the cow bones, and ponytails were tied in the holes to make toothbrushes. At present, it is recognized that the earliest toothbrush in the world was made in China in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that bamboo is the handle and bristles are the hairs. The idea of making a toothbrush is similar to a brush.
In 3500 BC, Babylonians in Cuba chose the end of a thin branch with strong fragrance, which was as soft as a brush when chewed, and was used to clean teeth. The idea is similar to Yang Liuzhi's idea, and the other end is cut into sharp points to facilitate tooth picking. A "dental stick" was once found in the tomb of the king in Urpolis, Sumer, which was used to clean the mouth before 3000 BC.
In ancient Greece, people used animal ashes to make "tooth powder" to clean their mouths. In ancient Rome, people used charcoal, salt water, fine sand and branches to clean their teeth. In addition, Europeans also carved ox strands into solid brush strips, drilled holes at the tail end, and fixed pig hair toothbrushes with filaments. This manufacturing idea is similar to that of a brush.
As an industry, the toothbrush produced on a large scale was born in Europe. It was made by an Englishman named William Addis in 1780. William Addis is a shoemaker. He had bad luck in the first half of his life and was sentenced to prison for a riot 1770. Perhaps because of the craftsman's habit, he saved some animal bones from lunch, punched holes in them and asked the guards for them.
Although the British began to industrialize the production of toothbrushes long ago, the first toothbrush patent in the world was obtained by Americans in 1857, and it was not until 1885 that the United States really began to produce toothbrushes on a large scale.
From a scientific point of view, animal hair is not an ideal material for toothbrushes, because animals are particularly prone to bacteria, are not easy to dry, and lose hair during use. Therefore, in 1938, DuPont Company of the United States introduced the first nylon toothbrush. Nylon is a kind of synthetic fiber with many advantages and low price. Nylon toothbrushes began to enter people's families. The first electric toothbrush was invented by Swiss in 1954.
The methods we use to clean our mouth today are all explored by the ancients. Since ancient times, they have evolved step by step, and our life has become convenient and fast through innovation.