Bristle toothbrush
Cepillo de dientes de cerdas
- Date
- dinastía Tang (619-907) · confidence low
- Place
- Beijing, China
- Credited to
- Ming dynasty China (Hongzhi Emperor)
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A bone or bamboo handle with Siberian hog bristles set in a row, used to clean teeth. It is the first documented bristle toothbrush; it reached Europe in the 17th century.
A 1498 patent of the Hongzhi Emperor is cited; there are also bone brushes from the Tang dynasty (619-907), and many cultures cleaned teeth with chewed twigs (miswak, datun).
What it led to
- the bristle toothbrush in Europe from the 17th century
- daily dental hygiene with brush and powders
- 20th-century nylon and electric toothbrushes