Toothbrush

Toothbrush - The use of a specially designed implement to keep the teeth disease free.

The idea that the good health of the mouth and especially that of the teeth, might be maintained by a scrupulous hygienic routine or not nearly as new as many people would imagine. The task of removing food particles from the teeth has long been familiar to humanity; even the Neanderthals picked their teeth as evidenced by distinctive marking on the teeth of some Neanderthal skulls. Evidence from prehistoric sites also suggests that early man used tools such as wooden chewing sticks, twigs from specific tree species and even feathers and splinters of bone to remove food from their teeth, although it is unknown whether they suspected that doing so would prevent decay. Today, certain types of chewing sticks continue to be recommended, especially for children, as being just as good as the toothbrush for maintaining good dental hygiene. 

The earliest known toothbrush has been dated to a site in Africa from around 1600 BCE. By the end of the second millennium BCE, Mesopotamian cultures had a wide range of dental hygiene practices. A number of prescriptions for mouthwashes have been discovered by archeologists, in addition to directions for using an index finger wrapped in cloths to brush and clean the teeth. A modern variant of this idea is the finger toothbrush, fitted over a forefinger and most often used by parents to clean the teeth of young children.

Many people today have integrated modern dental hygiene techniques in to their daily routine and this when combined with regular professional care, has greatly reduced the incidents of severe oral diseases in society. Regular dental hygiene is often a problem in developing nations and in poor populations, but improvements in hygienic practices immediately lead to significant improvements in dental health. Regular use of a toothbrush serves as a daily reminder that good hygiene helps maintain optimal health.