Sunday, November 29, 2009

Historically Whitening

By Cody Scholberg

There's long history with teeth-whitening. It is as old as civilization itself. Smiles have typically been a priority because it is a side of communication amongst humans. If you don't clean your teeth regularly, the smile pays the price. So of course, it is not unheard of for archaeologists to always find teeth-whitening methods around the world. There are many ways that people have used to keep their teeth-white including:

Using aged urine Using baking soda Using special species of twigs Toothbrushes

The Toothbrushes An Old Friend

Using a toothbrush is a very old tradition. People started using them in China over 500 years ago. Before that, they used something similar to a toothbrush. About 5000 years ago people started using a certain kind of tree to clean their teeth. They would take twigs from this tree and fray one end. With the frayed end, they would flatten it and use it to brush their teeth. This is still a very common practice in parts of Africa and the Middle East. These twigs have an antiseptic property and are very efficient as a teeth-whitening product.

Discovery Of Germs

Historically, Europeans were behind many people in the world and that they had no regard for germs whatsoever. In other parts of the world, it seemed like people knew they existed before they were actually identified. However, when they were discovered in Europe through a microscope, Europe change dramatically. Are one marks the beginning of the victorian era as a time when there was an extreme focus on keeping everything clean. This was not necessarily something that was involving one area or the other. In embraced every area. This is where teeth-whitening products got their start in modern European culture.

Toothbrushes Get A Second Chance

Plastic started to be developed after the discovery of crude oil in the Middle East in'08. Along with using this for gasoline, there was also the development of plastics. Toothbrushes were no longer made with animal hair and bone or wood. They were now being made from nylon. However, these were not the soft bristles that we know today. These were very hard and would often make the guns bleed. It would take almost 20 years before a softer product was developed. In the meantime, they were commonly used to apply teeth-whitening products to the teeth.

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