The first patent for a toothbrush was granted in 1857.(1) In 1938, natural animal bristles were replaced by nylon, developed at the DuPont laboratories. In 2003, according to the Lemelson Invention Index, the toothbrush rated first as the innovation people could not live without.(2) In 2010, a study about the relation between toothbrushing behavior and cardiovascular disease (CVD) showed that higher levels of risk of CVD are associated with a poor oral hygiene.(3) Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year (4) and and over 1.8 million deaths in the EU.(5) It is advised to brush teeth twice 2 minutes per day.(6,7) Regular toothbrushing may be one of the single most effective investment one can do for her/his health.
Sources: (1) US Patent No. 18,653 | (2) https://news.mit.edu/2003/lemelson-0129 | (3) De Oliveira C, Watt R., Hamer M. “Toothbrushing, inflammation, and risk of cardiovascular disease: results from Scottish Health Survey”. BMJ, 2010 | (4) https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cardiovascular-diseases-(cvds) | (5) Wilkins E, Wilson L, Wickramasinghe K, Bhatnagar P, Leal J, Luengo-Fernandez R, Burns R, Rayner M, Townsend N. “European Cardiovascular Disease Statistics 2017”. European Heart Network, Brussels. | (6) https://www.dgz-online.de/patienten/informationen | (7) https://www.ada.org/resources/research/science-and-research-institute/ oral-health-topics/toothbrushes