Toothbrush

A toothbrush is a small brush with bristles mounted on a handle, used to clean the teeth, gums and tongue. The modern bristle toothbrush originated in China during the Tang dynasty, between 619 and 907 AD, using hog bristles set into a handle, and the design later reached Europe through trade in the seventeenth century. In Britain, William Addis began mass producing toothbrushes in 1780, founding a manufacturing tradition that continues today, and the toothbrush was named the number one invention Americans said they could not live without in a 2003 survey.