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5000 BCE
Tooth Paste!
Egyptians are believed to have started using a paste to clean their teeth around 5000BC, before toothbrushes were invented. -
3000 BCE
First Toothbrush
Tooth brushing tools date back to 3500-3000 BC when the Babylonians and the Egyptians made a brush by fraying the end of a twig. -
1600 BCE
Fresh breath?
The Chinese developed “chewing sticks” which were made from aromatic tree twigs to freshen breath. -
Mr. Baker
John Baker, the earliest medically-trained dentist to practice in America. -
Period: to
Native Dentist!
Isaac Greenwood practices as the first native-born American dentist. -
What would we do without these?
James Snell invents the first reclining dental chair -
Dental school!
Horace Hayden and Chapin Harris found the world’s first dental school -
OH-IO!
The first formal training program for dental nurses is established at the Ohio College of Dental Surgery by Cyrus M. Wright. The program is discontinued in 1914, though, due to opposition by Ohio dentists. -
All about the women!
Irene Newman receives the world’s first dental hygiene license in Connecticut. -
Period: to
More about toothbrushes!
Natural bristles were the only source of bristles until Du Pont invented nylon. The invention of nylon started the development of the truly modern toothbrush in 1938, and by the 1950s softer nylon bristles were being made, as people preferred these. The first electric toothbrush was made in 1939 and the first electric toothbrush in the US was the Broxodent in 1960. -
Year I was born!
The National Institute of Dental Research is renamed National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research