How the Toothbrush shaped American Culture (and Vice Versa!)
Looking at the evolution of the toothbrush and how it has changed over thousands of years gives insight on how it got to be the product it is today, but by looking at the use of the toothbrush in the past century it is possible to gain insight on how this tool changed a whole society.
Since the early 1900’s the toothbrush has been a very important technology to the American people. So much so that by 1917 the Educational Bureau of the New York City Health Department put together something called Oral Hygiene Week, in which they taught the value and importance of the toothbrush and held toothbrush drills to teach thousands of children how to clean teeth properly. In the 1920’s there was also a big move from imported animal bristle toothbrushes, that mostly came from Japan, to using plastic bristles. They were sold side by side for 8 years until plastic bristles were proved to collect fewer bacteria and dry faster, at which point most of America switched quickly to only using plastic bristled brushes. This transformation marked the start of major toothbrush advertisements and the start of large American companies mass-producing the toothbrush. It is said that by 1944 American civilians spent around $30 million dollars on toothbrushes and three major toothbrush companies of the time were spending a total of $1.5 million dollars on adds (which for the time was a significant amount of money). Then by 1961 annual sales of toothbrushes was up to $64.5 million dollars in retail alone. Ads began to pop up all over bulletins, newspapers and magazines to both market toothbrush brands and to promote the importance of toothbrushes and their role in dental hygiene.
Since the early 1900’s the toothbrush has been a very important technology to the American people. So much so that by 1917 the Educational Bureau of the New York City Health Department put together something called Oral Hygiene Week, in which they taught the value and importance of the toothbrush and held toothbrush drills to teach thousands of children how to clean teeth properly. In the 1920’s there was also a big move from imported animal bristle toothbrushes, that mostly came from Japan, to using plastic bristles. They were sold side by side for 8 years until plastic bristles were proved to collect fewer bacteria and dry faster, at which point most of America switched quickly to only using plastic bristled brushes. This transformation marked the start of major toothbrush advertisements and the start of large American companies mass-producing the toothbrush. It is said that by 1944 American civilians spent around $30 million dollars on toothbrushes and three major toothbrush companies of the time were spending a total of $1.5 million dollars on adds (which for the time was a significant amount of money). Then by 1961 annual sales of toothbrushes was up to $64.5 million dollars in retail alone. Ads began to pop up all over bulletins, newspapers and magazines to both market toothbrush brands and to promote the importance of toothbrushes and their role in dental hygiene.
These ads had a great effect on the American public and the push for good oral hygiene sparked the average American to brush their teeth regularly. In 1967 a survey of Americans brushing habits found that 41% of families with annual incomes less than $5,000 a year would brush their teeth 2x or more a day, 51% of families with income $5,000 to $10,000 would brush 2x or more a day and 63% of families with a income of $10,000 or greater would brush 2x or more a day. This survey shows that during this time it was still somewhat of an elitist thing to brush your teeth and hadn’t quite caught on fully across all social economic classes in the US. Over the next couple decades this changed drastically—toothbrushes became more available and more common to every household.
By 1996 toothbrush sales were reported to be as high as $550 million dollars yearly and in the year 2000 the yearly sales were estimated around $1.2 billion. Ads had grown significantly as had the sales of toothbrushes, electric toothbrushes and many whitening products. When the American toothbrush industry was started the heavy reliance of brushing remained on having healthy oral hygiene, avoiding your teeth from rotting with cavities, preventing gum diseases and the mere feeling of clean teeth, which you get after you brush. But starting in the 1960’s and still evolving to this day, is the importance of having white teeth as a representation of your overall look and health. During this time, through the rise of media and ads, white teeth became more sought after then just having healthy teeth and good overall oral hygiene. This gave rise to a new culture in which more emphasis was put on nice white teeth. This is true to such a extent that people who can afford it, now often get veneers, which are thin layers of material that are placed over your real teeth, in order to improve the aesthetics of their teeth. It is so important to these people to have whiter and straighter teeth that they mask their natural teeth for the mere look of healthier and better-kept teeth. The image of white straight teeth has especially become important in Hollywood, which has also pressured many actors to buy veneers. Example of such actors shown include Lindsey Lohan, Michael Douglas, George Clooney, 50 Cent and Nicolas Cage in that order:
By 1996 toothbrush sales were reported to be as high as $550 million dollars yearly and in the year 2000 the yearly sales were estimated around $1.2 billion. Ads had grown significantly as had the sales of toothbrushes, electric toothbrushes and many whitening products. When the American toothbrush industry was started the heavy reliance of brushing remained on having healthy oral hygiene, avoiding your teeth from rotting with cavities, preventing gum diseases and the mere feeling of clean teeth, which you get after you brush. But starting in the 1960’s and still evolving to this day, is the importance of having white teeth as a representation of your overall look and health. During this time, through the rise of media and ads, white teeth became more sought after then just having healthy teeth and good overall oral hygiene. This gave rise to a new culture in which more emphasis was put on nice white teeth. This is true to such a extent that people who can afford it, now often get veneers, which are thin layers of material that are placed over your real teeth, in order to improve the aesthetics of their teeth. It is so important to these people to have whiter and straighter teeth that they mask their natural teeth for the mere look of healthier and better-kept teeth. The image of white straight teeth has especially become important in Hollywood, which has also pressured many actors to buy veneers. Example of such actors shown include Lindsey Lohan, Michael Douglas, George Clooney, 50 Cent and Nicolas Cage in that order:
In a effort to gain whiter and straighter teeth to fit the new social norm, new efforts in gaining brushing habits when your younger arose, people began to get braces to straighten teeth and more and more people started using teeth whitening products. But even as society began to put more emphasis on white teeth vs. generally healthy teeth, the toothbrush still remained as the basic and most important tool to achieve these things. The toothbrush has remained fairly unchanged in the past couple decades and most of the advancements have been in the toothpaste that is applied to the toothbrush and which maximizes the toothbrushes effect. The biggest additions to toothpaste in the past forty years has been adding fluoride to help protect teeth and recently adding whitening properties to toothpaste. But most people would agree that its not the toothpaste that really makes the act of brushing your teeth feel healthy and enjoyable, instead it is the toothbrush itself that is the real important technology that most Americans say they couldn’t live without.
Perez Ratoncito
The loss of baby teeth has been an important rite of passage for centuries in all corners of the world. Centuries ago in Europe people would bury their children’s baby teeth for fear that witches would use them to cast spells upon the child. As these countries became more urbanized Europeans began to bury teeth in potted plants, as open soil was difficult to find in the city. In Middle Eastern countries such as Jordan, Palestine and Iraq, children throw their lost teeth towards the sun in hope that Allah will replace it with a stronger, bigger tooth. In Spain children fall asleep with their teeth underneath their pillow in hopes that a little mouse named Ratoncito will trade it for coins or candy. A mouse also collects baby teeth in France as he tries to defeat an evil king by knocking out all of the king’s teeth. And in Scotland and Ireland a fairy rat trades teeth for coins. The common theme of rodents in these fables most likely has to do with the fact that rodents’ teeth never stop growing.
The American tradition of the tooth fairy is slightly different from the superstitions found in other areas of the world but seems to have traces of European tradition. The tooth fairy first appears in literature at the beginning of the twentieth century. In American culture, children will leave their baby teeth underneath their pillows at night and the tooth fairy will replace the baby tooth with some sort of reward, typically a coin or candy.
Whether you use it for your overall dental health, to whiten your teeth, because you’re conditioned to using it, or you just like the feel of clean teeth, the toothbrush is likely an important part of your everyday life. While media and advertisements may try and seduce you into buying a new whitening or cleaning product, at this point and time the toothbrush is so important for dental cleaning and hygiene that you must use it in parallel to other products and put the most importance into brushing itself. As media puts more and more pressure on the image of white teeth, you must also realize that there is a major linkage between white teeth and healthy oral hygiene. It isn’t all about bleaching products and getting fake dental implants—the best and healthiest way to have “pearly” white teeth is to have a healthy diet and to brush your teeth regularly. This is why society has put so much emphasis and importance on brushing in the past century and why the toothbrush has remained to be one of the oldest and most important technologies that we use in todays day and age.