The origin of toothbrush

The ancestors had the habit of mouthwash and brushing teeth. In 3000 BC, the earliest tool for cleaning mouth - tooth stick, was found in the tomb of king of Sumerian city state, which could be used for two weeks. In ancient Greece and Rome, people used animal ashes as tooth powder to clean up their mouths. Now some primitive tribes used charcoal, salt water, fine sand and branches to clean their teeth. Arabs now take the branch from a tree called Arak, smash one end and make it brush, which is used to clean the teeth and brush teeth. It is called miswak, a natural toothbrush. According to scientists, the branch contains fluorine and saponin, which can prevent tooth decay and relieve pain.
The origin of brushing teeth with branches
Toothbrushes were first used in the Muslim world in the Middle East, and Prophet Muhammad began to promote the use of toothbrushes in 600 ad. Brushing teeth and flowing water showers are the first in Arabia - Islam. Now it is proved that mobile water baths are better than bathtubs' hygiene. Brushing teeth is a tree that produces foam in the middle of branches of Arabia. Muslims use "brush their teeth with branches" as one of the four virtues of saints. They clean their teeth with a toothpick stick before praying five times a day. And in mosques or Muslim homes, each person is two towels, which are clean and washed and bathed.
When using, the staff is clamped between the middle finger and the ring finger, and the branch is chewed while the tooth is removed. It is said that this unique posture ensures hygiene and can easily clean every tooth seam without having to rub like a toothbrush. Therefore, although toothbrush is already easy to buy, a large number of local people still prefer to buy traditional pick stick in drugstore. Some Saudis even give it as a gift to foreign guests.
Don't think they brush their teeth only five times a day. Many people carry a large number of pick sticks with them, and take out one brush as soon as they have time. They love the stick, and many people simply hang their favorite pick stick around their necks with string.
Don't think that only people who can't afford a toothbrush do it. The same was true of Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, who was later arrested by the US military and jailed, still demanding a dental pick stick every day. There are also different levels of the staff. Usually, people will process the branches with their hands. If necessary, the olive branches are selected by the people who have the conditions. It is not only fragrant, but also the sap has the function of antisepsis; The best in the cane is the olive branch soaked in Zamzam water, which is naturally hundreds of times the price of the water drawn from the well near the Muhammad cemetery in Mecca. The habit of brushing teeth by branches later came with the camel line of Muslim merchants being taken to all parts of Africa. Of course, because of the different climate and tree species, they use a variety of branches. The "alo" branch used by togoles is very soft, and it will bloom with a slight bite of teeth, which can brush teeth like a real toothbrush; The Congolese stick is made of Bush roots, which can make lips red and moist; The branches of Tanzania people can produce mouthful aroma and foam, because they contain a lot of peppermint sesame oil and soap ingredients, so this tree is also named "toothbrush tree". Toothbrush trees are mainly distributed in the Middle East and North Africa Arab world, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, in addition, tropical forests in western Africa and Congo, Tanzania and other places.
People in the mountains of Pakistan brush their teeth with branches
Not long ago, reporters interviewed the mountainous areas of Pakistan's northwest border province. At noon, after a few of us had a picnic in a small shop, the local guide faza took a small branch from the apricot tree on the roadside, and then slowly reached into his mouth and stirred it. We thought he had a crack in his teeth when he was eating the pheasant, so we hurriedly asked the boss for toothpicks. We didn't expect that fazar and the boss laughed together.
"This is the usual tool for brushing teeth in our Pakistani mountains." There are several trees that can be used to brush teeth in northern Pakistan, including apricots, walnuts, etc., and the best is a tree called mossack in the local language, Fazal said. The research found that the local groundwater is rich in a special chemical. The roots of trees and other plants can make the sap of branches have the function of health teeth by absorbing these substances in the groundwater. It can prevent tooth decay, ulcer, tooth stones and other oral diseases by cleaning teeth for a long time.
During the interview, we met vendors pushing cars on the roadside to sell bundles of mossak bark or wood, and digging a half round groove on one side of the strip. When using this "branch toothbrush", locals first chew it in their mouth, chew the parts in the groove into fiber shape, then rub the teeth with these fibers to remove the residue between plaque and teeth seam, and also remove the scale with the tip of the wood strip.
In Pakistan's northwest border province, we also found that many local people have pale yellow lips, which is also related to the use of branches to brush teeth, because the juice of apricot, walnut and other trees is yellow color, and the lips become yellow after years of brushing their teeth. It is said that ancient Pakistan women used it as lipstick.
Having healthy and white teeth is the pursuit of many people from ancient times to now. Austria's most beautiful princess cichy has been troubled by the white teeth all her life. To cover up the flaw, she never laughed, and spoke very little. Princess CICI's arbitrary mother-in-law, Queen Sophie of the Habsburg dynasty, was also dissatisfied with it. She had asked Princess Sisi to "find a toothbrush and brush her teeth well". But in that time, the real toothbrush had not been invented.
Willow brush is the pioneer of toothbrush
China is the first country in the world to pay attention to keeping the mouth clean and preventing dental diseases. According to the oracle inscriptions unearthed in the Yin Ruins of Anyang, Henan Province, the ancient people recorded oral diseases in the slave society of Shang Dynasty in the 13th century BC. But limited to the people's understanding level at that time, the reason of tooth disease was attributed to the role played by ghosts, naturally, it would not be expected to brush teeth to prevent and control tooth diseases.
In feudal society, some doctors pointed out that: the reason for caries is not to wash after being exposed to wind and eating. So, since 2000 years ago, Chinese people have been used to mouthwash. As in the book of rites, there are records of "chicken initial sound, alkali she gargle". However, the mouthwash alone can not completely remove the dirt, food residue and so on on on the teeth. Therefore, the ancients came up with fingers or willow to clean teeth. People bite one end of the willow into a brush with their teeth and then dip them in potions to wipe their teeth. In Song Dynasty, some people advocated that they should wipe their teeth at least twice a day, once in the morning and in the evening.
In Dunhuang murals, there is a painting of the holy picture of Fangdu fork head. It is painted by a monk. In order to clean his teeth, he is squatting on the ground, holding a water bottle with a mouthwash in his left hand and wiping his front teeth with the middle finger of his right hand. This shows that, at least in Tang Dynasty, the people of our country had the habit of cleaning teeth.