A smile is the main form of communication throughout the world. Ever since the beginning of mankind, people have been fixated on ways to keep teeth bright, white and clean. Some of the early methods are pretty basic but our ancestors certainly paved the way for modern dental and oral hygiene. Let’s see what led up to man’s fixation with teeth whitening.
In 3000 BC toothbrushes were known as chew sticks, made of little branches that were frayed at one end. Our forefathers cleaned their teeth with these to remove debris. In the early 1400s the Chinese were the first people to use a toothbrush with a bamboo handle and hog bristles. European traders were very interested in these objects and took them home. From then, many cultures and countries began to use similar toothbrushes.
Hog hair toothbrushes were used until Louis Pasteur discovered bacteria. This led to people realizing that animal bristles were the cause of gum infections. Science continued it the quest to find a more sterile substitute and success finally came when Wallace Corothers made the ground breaking discovery of nylon in 1935.
A company called du Pont began marketing Dr West’s Miracle Tuft Toothbrush right across America. People were educated about the disadvantages of hog hair and informed about the advantages of nylon bristles. Unfortunately Dr West’s ‘miracle’ toothbrush was so hard that it damaged gums, so much so that dentists would not endorse them. It took du Pont almost another 20 years before producing the Park Avenue toothbrush with soft nylon.
The Squibb Company caused a dental revolution when it introduced the first electric toothbrush in 1961. The product received the stamp of approval from the American Dental Association and, over the coming years, the electric toothbrush became much improved. Today they are battery operated, cordless, and even sonic.
Teeth whitening began with the Egyptians in 2000 BC. They concocted a substance using wine vinegar and powdered pumice stone which was applied to the teeth with a chew stick. If you think that sounds awful, the Romans were even worse – they used human urine. Roman doctors were convinced that urine had teeth whitening properties.
History shows that it wasn’t dentists who offered teeth whitening to the public. It was in fact barbers who were often asked to extract rotting teeth. After filing the teeth, they would apply a caustic acid as a whitener. It proved to be effective but, in the process, the enamel was destroyed.
Italian dentists discovered in the 1800s that tooth discolorations could be removed with fluoride. Parents were encouraged to let their children suck on candy that contained fluoride. The results were so pleasing that fluoride was added to mouthwashes, toothpastes and even to drinking water. Years later it was discovered that fluoride was responsible for adult tooth discoloration.
Mankind is now living in the 21st Century and we are just as obsessed with sparkling white teeth in our efforts for that perfect smile. In fact the number of whitening or bleaching procedures done in the last 5 years has increased by a staggering 300 percent. This information was released by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.
