It is always important to distinguish myth from fact when discussing one of the most widely used and important dental care products ever invented, and whilst the most commonly stated origin of the toothbrush is fascinating, it is only part of the story.

The man credited with making the first toothbrush was William Addis, founder of The Addis Company, who would become the first company to mass-produce toothbrushes.

As the story goes from Addis themselves, when Mr Addis was imprisoned for allegedly causing a riot in Spitalfields, London, he decided to create a broom for teeth by drilling holes into a bone from a prison dinner, threading some stiff boar hairs through the holes in the bone and sealing the invention with glue.

When he was released from prison, he started a business to make toothbrushes, and the rest is history.

However, he was far from the first person to create a toothbrush, and similar methods for cleaning teeth had been established thousands of years before.

Early humans experimented with feathers, animal bones, quills from porcupines and twigs before settling on the miswak, or chew stick.

Toothpicks were common in Ancient Greece and later Ancient Rome, whilst bristled toothbrushes were dated to Tang dynasty China (619-907) 

Much like Mr Addis’ later design, they used hog bristles and a handle made from bone, although other excavations have revealed toothbrushes with bamboo handles.

Chinese toothbrushes would spread to Europe through travellers and traders, and were adopted in continental Europe at least a century before Addis’ stay in Newgate Prison.

However, what is true is that The Addis Company, producing toothbrushes under the Wisdom brand until 1996, were a major reason for the mass adoption of toothbrushes in the UK and a move away from alternatives such as dental powder and cleaning cloths.