@achest

The Forgotten Origins of the Toothbrush The toothbrush, as we know it, has roots in ancient China. In the Tang Dynasty (around the 7th century), people used brushes made of bone or bamboo handles and bristles from hogs. This design spread to Europe through trade, where horsehair or feathers were sometimes used instead. Before toothbrushes, many cultures used “chewing sticks” — twigs with frayed ends that acted like natural bristles. In ancient Egypt, tooth powders made from crushed eggshells, pumice, and myrrh were common. It wasn’t until the late 18th century that toothbrushes began mass production in England. The switch to nylon bristles in the 1930s created the modern toothbrush we use today.

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