From the first dentist to the first electric toothbrush

From the first dentist to the first electric toothbrush

The history of dentistry spans more than 2,500 years , from the appearance of the first dentists in history to, just a hundred years ago, the first electric toothbrush.

Here are the highlights of this journey of dental innovation .

Oral history

2600 BC C .: The first dentist . An inscription on the tomb of the physician Hesy-Re includes the title "the greatest of those who deal with teeth."

1700-1500 BC C .: The first treatise on Dentistry . The Ebers papyrus is the oldest known description of dental disease and toothache remedies.

700 a. C .: The first false teeth . The Etruscans, an ancient civilization that lived in the territory of present-day Italy, made false teeth from the remains of humans and animals.

1530: The first book of Dentistry . Artzney Büchlein writes Little Medicinal Book for All Kinds of Diseases and Infirmities of the Teeth .

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1780: The first toothbrush : William Addis of the United Kingdom makes the first modern toothbrush. He made the first prototype with bristle and pig bone while in prison for mutiny.

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1790: The first dentist chair : Josiah Flagg, from the United States, builds the first chair designed for dental practices. The Wilkerson chair, the first hydraulic dentist chair, appeared in 1877.

1880: The first tube of toothpaste . Maxillofacial surgeon Washington Sheffield in the United States invented the collapsible metal tube.

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1885: The first dental assistant . C. Edmund Kells, a prominent dentist in New Orleans, hired Malvina Cueria to help him with his work.

1896: The first dental radiography . Kells also becomes the first dentist to take a dental radiograph (x-ray) of a living patient.

1927: The first electric toothbrush . The Electro Massage Toothbrush Company makes its first model; in 1961 it would be followed by cordless and rechargeable versions.

Motodent Electric Toothbrush