TOOTHBRUSH (how to brush, manual / ETB, click here)

  • Manual (regular) soft, smaller is better, angled helps – name brand, e.g. Oral-B.
  • Electric toothbrush (ETB), rechargeable powered brushes improve effectiveness. With ETB “let the tech do the work”: drag, don’t brush.
  • Denture brush, for retainers, bite guards, dentures.
    • for flexible partial dentures a SOFT denture brush is recommended, like the TCS Fresh Soft Bristle Denture Brush, click here
toothbrushes

Powered Toothbrushes Timeline

  • 1954 – Broxodent (often cited as the first commercially notable electric toothbrush), conceived in Switzerland by Dr. Philippe-Guy Woog.
    • 1960–1961 – Broxodent marketed in the U.S.; cordless rechargeable electric brushes appear shortly after.
  • 1984 – Rota-dent was clinically available 1984 under a licensing agreement with a Danish company, sold directly through dentists (with patients paying $90–$125 including a usage lesson).
    • Nov 29, 2010 – Rotadent Plus launches (3 speeds, timer, charging base; keeps 360° sweeping rotary head concept).
    • Feb 20, 2014 – DenMat acquires Zila’s dental assets (including Rotadent).
    • Jun 16, 2016 – Rotadent ProCare is launched by DenMat as an improved next-gen Rotadent (more powerful version of the classic Rotadent rotary toothbrush, featuring a more robust design and better technology).
  • 1987 – Interplak becomes the first rotary-action electric toothbrush marketed for home use.
  • 1991 – Oral-B Plaque Remover “D5” launches and popularizes the oscillating-rotating round-head category.
    • 2020 – Oral-B iO era begins (round head O-R + “micro-vibrations”/magnetic drive in the marketing and literature).
  • 1992 – Sonicare is introduced (sonic vibration category later branded as Philips Sonicare).
    • Oct 2000 – Philips acquires Optiva (Sonicare’s company), accelerating Philips Sonicare’s growth.
  • 1999–2001 – The SpinBrush (battery, low-cost “spin brush”) is developed (1999) and sold to P&G (2001) for $475M, cementing the mass-market battery spin segment.
  • Jul 10, 2024 – quip launches its first oscillating brush (often branded as quip 360; also sold as quip Rev on quip’s site).

Dental Care

Modern nylon toothbrushes are dominant in developed nations (U.S., Europe, East Asia). Conversely, millions in Africa, the Middle East, and rural Asia/South America use traditional “chew sticks” (miswak, arak), which are chewed to create bristles. These sticks offer natural antimicrobial/fluoride benefits and are deeply rooted in cultural/religious practices.

3500 BCE: Tooth-cleaning tools emerge in ancient Babylon and Egypt. These ancient cultures used frayed twigs to keep their teeth clean — an early form of the toothbrush.

1600 BCE: Chewing sticks are used in China. These sticks were made from aromatic trees to help freshen breath.

Cultures and Regions Using Cleaning Sticks (Chew Sticks/Miswak)

  • Middle East & Arab Bedouin Tribes: Use twigs from the arak tree (Salvadora persica), known as miswak or siwak, which has natural antibacterial properties.
  • African Cultures: Widespread use of chewing sticks to clean teeth and gums, such as in Senegal and Nigeria. The Mundari people of South Sudan are a notable example.
  • India & South Asia: Rural areas use twigs from neem, coconut, cashew, or mango trees. Hindu priests and Brahmins have traditionally used cherry wood.
  • Southeast Asia: Similar traditions of using specific tree twigs for oral hygiene.
  • Muslim Communities: Miswak use is often associated with Islamic traditions of cleanliness.

Cultures and Regions Using Modern Toothbrushes

  • Developed Nations: The United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and urban areas of Asia overwhelmingly use synthetic, mass-produced, or electric toothbrushes.
  • China: While historically pioneering the first bristle toothbrush during the Tang Dynasty (619–907 CE), modern China is a major user and manufacturer of modern toothbrushes.

Key Distinctions

  • Chew Sticks: Frayed twigs (often Salvadora persica) that provide fluoride, silica, and antimicrobial agents, acting as both toothbrush and toothpaste.
  • Toothbrushes: Nylon bristles on a plastic/bamboo handle designed for precise plaque removal, paired with manufactured toothpaste.

“Every tooth in a man’s head is more valuable than a diamond.”
– Miguel de Cervantes, in Don Quixote, 1605

toothbrush

TOOTHPASTE

  • Dry Brushing, brush until your teeth feel smooth (soft), not by time, click here.
  • Tartar Protection (ingredient: pyrophosphate), recommended: Arm & Hammer (Peroxicare, Complete Care, Advance White)
  • Sensitive
  • Biotene. Also for canker sores, it has no SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate).

If you have been recommended to use sensitive toothpaste it is best used exclusively all the time.

  • Q: Why does the package state that if the pain or sensitivity still persists after 4 weeks of use, we should visit the dentist?
  • A: The FDA requires this statement on the packaging of all over-the-counter desensitizing toothpastes. Sensitive teeth may indicate a more serious problem that may need to have prompt care by a dentist. Your dental professional may recommend that you use Sensodyne daily if he or she has ruled out other dental or medical issues.

BETWEEN TEETH

  • Glide Floss, shred resistant, easiest to use. Also available in Glide Floss Picks. Floss your the lower front teeth every brushing (and … work up to flossing all of your teeth every time you brush). Professionally flossing: floss on middle fingers.
  • Oral-B Glide Pro-Health Threader Floss, floss under bridges, splints, and/or braces, click here.
  • Gum Soft Picks, Advanced longer than the ‘Original’ and easy to use even on back teeth, click here.
  • Platypus Flossers for braces, click here.
  • Other, floss holders, toothpicks, Stimudents, etc.
Glide Floss Picks

Dental floss (in the “modern” sense – thread used intentionally between teeth) was introduced in the early 1800s by Dr. Levi Spear Parmly, a dentist in New Orleans. He was recommending waxed silk thread for cleaning between teeth by 1815–1819 (the date varies by source depending on whether they mean his early recommendations vs. when he published the idea).

What it was originally intended for

  • To remove debris and “irritating matter” from between teeth and along the gumline that a toothbrush can’t reach, with the goal of reducing tooth decay and gum disease/irritation.

When it became a product people could buy

  • 1882: first widely cited commercial production/marketing of silk floss (Codman & Shurtleft).
  • 1898: Johnson & Johnson received the first patent for dental floss (silk).
glass of water

RINSES

  • Salt Water, more effective than mouthwash any day. A saturated solution (4 teaspoons table salt / pint of water, or 1 teaspoon in 4 ounces of water) swished between teeth for at least a minute. More effective because: much more comfortable and tolerable, antibacterial, no alcohol, easily available, cheaper. Time of day doesn’t matter, often leaving it premixed in the shower is very helpful (pint bottle with a sport top).
  • Therasol, antibacterial (ethoxylated tertiary amine and capryl/capramidopropylbetaine), only sold online click here.
  • Peroxyl, diluted, mild mint flavored hydrogen peroxide (1.5%), no alcohol click here (do not rinse with peroxide after extractions or oral surgery).

chlorhexidine products (PerioGard, Peridex): try to limit use to 2 weeks. Although these products are antibacterial, the side effects of increased tartar and stain can be substantial, and there is an equally effective solution without those side effects, TheraSol.

Original Listerine was invented in 1879 as a surgical antiseptic by Dr. Joseph Lawrence (and commercialized via Jordan Wheat Lambert soon after). From the beginning, it was described as an alcohol-based antiseptic built around four essential-oil ingredients: eucalyptol, menthol, methyl salicylate, and thymol. Modern “Original/Antiseptic” labels still list those same four actives.

WATER FLOSSER

  • Waterpik® (model WP-660, White Aquarius) With baking soda, two teaspoons per full reservoir at the highest pressure setting that is comfortable, click here.
WaterPik

oral irrigator / Waterpik / water flosser

  • 1950s: The first oral irrigators (pre-Waterpik). An early “oral irrigator” concept was developed in the 1950s; one commonly cited early patent is from Dr. C. D. Matteson (patented mid-1950s), describing a device intended to flush teeth and gums after meals (often faucet-attached).
  • Late 1950s–1962: Waterpik is invented in Colorado. Dentist Dr. Gerald Moyer and engineer John Mattingly developed the powered, countertop style unit with a motor + reservoir that delivers pulsating water.
  • 1962: It was introduced to the dental profession at the 1962 Dallas Dental Convention.
    • The business that commercialized the device began in 1962 (often referenced as starting as Aqua Tec Corporation with the oral irrigator).
    • 1967: Acquisition by Teledyne in 1967 and a later public-company spinout.
    • 2017: Church & Dwight (Arm & Hammer) acquisition of Waterpik, and the Waterpik Countertop Family Water Flosser enters a new credibility phase when it earns the ADA Seal of Acceptance for plaque removal along the gumline/between teeth and helping prevent/reduce gingivitis.
  • 2022: Philips Sonicare launches a new Power Flosser range featuring QuadStream nozzle.

Over time water flossers expanded from countertop units to cordless/portable models and specialty tips (orthodontic, periodontal, implant/crown, etc.).

ETC.

  • Xylitol, cavity-free, products. Sorbitol and mannitol are the primary sweeteners in most sugarless gums, and although they reduce decay compared to sucrose (commonly referred to as ‘sugar’), xylitol does not cause decay.
  • Xylimelts, dry mouth discs adhere to your teeth or gums to relieve persistent dry mouth, click here.
  • Canker Cover for canker sores, more info click here.
  • Kanka, Orajel for irritations from braces, retainers or dentures.
  • Nicotine substitutes: patch / gum / lozenge / Rx tablet – inhaler. Nicotine pouches (Zyn, On!, and Velo).
  • Rx Valtrex for cold sores.
  • Red Cross Toothache Medication, click here, use only in teeth with persistent, throbbing pain; not for gums – only teeth. Temporary relief only – see dentist ASAP.
  • Rx fluoride supplements, for children up through age 16.
  • Vitamin/mineral supplements to aid healthy gums, immune system, healing (Centrum or it’s equivalent). You can check the effectiveness/requirement by your fingernails.
  • Stress reduction for a healthier immune system, reduction clenching / grinding: physical exercise, meditation, biofeedback, medication, nutrition.
  • Brush / scrape your tongue: stain is from bacteria that “pick-up” dark pigments from your diet. Tongue scrapers can also help prevent halitosis.
  • Disclosing solution / tablets to show where plaque remains on teeth, 2 Tone Disclosing Solution, 2 Tone Disclosing Tablets.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HEALTH

Products, devices, supplies recommended are all name brand, proven, reliable, effective. They are recommended for your health and well-being without compensation.

Or
OralB Glide
Gum
Colgate
S
Arm & Hammer
Sensodyne
Waterp
biotene
S
Sonicare
Ther
Centrum
Crest 3D Whitestrips