Dental Opinion, The First Toothbrush in China
In 1498 the emperor of China patents the toothbrush: hogback,horses and badgers bristles set into a piece of bone or bamboo. Dental hygiene takes a step up.
How or maybe if you cleaned your teeth before this time depended on culture and class. The chew stick, or chewing stick or toothstick, was a piece of twig. One could chew one end of the stick until it was quite frayed and then use the frayed end to brush and scrape one’s teeth.