TheWorld’s First Dental Hygienist
Where Did It All Begin?
While many dental offices are named after the dentist, most will tell you that their hygienists are an essential part of their practice. In fact, patients often build the best relationships with their hygienists due to the frequency of their cleanings. Despite the significant role they play in modern practices, a lot of people might be surprised to learn that, compared to the overall origin of dentistry, the induction of hygienists into the industry is relatively recent.
act as an apprentice so she could scale and polish his patients’ teeth. Interestingly, Fones openly despised the title “dental nurse,” so he dubbed Newman the world’s first “dental hygienist.” By 1910, the Ohio College of Dental Surgery began offering a course for dental hygienists. Unfortunately, many of the
students, all of whomwere finally licensed and allowed to practice.
Fast-forward a century, and today’s hygienists can offer patients more treatment than the first “dental nurses” probably ever thought possible. They carry out their own minor procedures, including polishing and stain and tartar removal, and they can also conduct inspections to update the dentist of any upcoming issues. Many of them can also carry out the preliminary work for fitting braces or take molds of teeth before reconstructive surgery is performed. All in all, both dentists and patients are fortunate that dental hygienists have taken such huge strides in their field over the last 100 years. Next time you see your hygienist, be sure to give them a big thanks for all they do!
existing dentists in the state strongly opposed the formal training school, so even though they had completed their coursework, hygienists struggled to find clinics where they could practice. While the school did eventually close a couple years later, Fones continued training on his own. In the end, he trained 97 dental hygiene
“Dental nurses,” as they were known at the time, began to provide prophylaxis treatment as a means to prevent disease in the late 1880s. Then, in 1906, an Ohio dentist named Alfred C. Fones trained his assistant, Irene Newman, to
Do You Need a New Chew Stick?
The Long History of the Toothbrush
A s long as human beings have been eating food, we’ve been getting things stuck in our teeth. Centuries before floss and electric toothbrushes, people were finding creative solutions to clean their teeth. The most notable teeth-cleaning method arose in 3500 B.C. when the Babylonians began using “chew sticks.” Archaeologists have found evidence that these rudimentary toothbrushes — made of various roots and twigs — were used throughout the ancient world, from Egypt to the Roman Empire. Like most useful things, the toothbrush was invented in China. In 1498, the Hongzhi Emperor of China patented what we would recognize today as a toothbrush. Stiff bristles were taken from the neck of a mountain hog and inserted into holes drilled into a handle made of bone or bamboo. Though the hog-hair toothbrush
would be imported from China to Europe, it never caught on with Europeans, who preferred cleaning their teeth with a rag dipped in salt or charcoal. In 1770, an English entrepreneur named William Addis was thrown in jail for starting a riot. While incarcerated, Addis, who was suffering from some pretty bad halitosis, noticed how effective the bristles of a broom were at cleaning the floor. Inspired, Addis drilled holes in a small bone left over from one of his meals and tied bristles through the holes. Like the Chinese discovered 270 years before, the invention worked like a charm. When Addis was released from prison, he started a company to manufacture his toothbrushes. This was around the time people began eating more refined sugar, and dental decay was becoming a huge problem. Demand for his toothbrush increased,
and Addis made a fortune. Despite its long history in China, Addis is often credited with inventing the modern toothbrush. Bristles and animal bone remained a popular resource for making toothbrushes for over 150 years, but they ran the risk of growing dangerous bacteria. The invention of synthetic materials, like nylon, was a game-changer. In 1938, the Dupont de Nemours company introduced the first toothbrush with nylon bristles, Doctor West’s Miracle Toothbrush. Barely 20 years later, that Miracle Toothbrush looked like an ancient chew stick when the first electric toothbrush hit the market in 1960. Today, toothbrushes are an indisputable necessity for personal hygiene, and there are countless options to choose from.
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