Dental Hygiene, an Ancient Practice - The History of the ToothbrushWritten by Rebecca Blain
By Rebecca Blain of http://www.everything-teeth.comOne of most asked questions by adults and children is origin of toothbrush. There are several schools of thought on when real toothbrush was created, but you need to look far into past for first evidences of oral hygiene. The Chinese were believed to create first real toothbrush, or a device that was used to clean teeth, but it was much different than ones that we are used to today. These first toothbrushes, crafted in 1400s, did not use nylon for bristles, or plastic for handles. They were crafted from bamboo, one of most common plants from that area. The bamboo formed handle for people to hold on to. Attached to this handle was a set of bristles, which were crafted from tough hair of Siberian wild boar. The hairs used came from back of neck of this animal. This is toothbrush associated with having been ancestor of one that we use today. However, there is evidence that there was another form of toothbrush dating up to 3000 years before birth of Christ. Due to this, history of toothbrush proves that this device is one of oldest still used by man, only truly outdated by wheel. This form of toothbrush was found within pyramids of Egyptians. These toothbrushes were crafted from a stick. Unlike Chinese version of toothbrush, end of stick was flayed so that fibers of wood were more soft. This stick was then rubbed against teeth to serve as a form of oral hygiene. This form of toothbrush did not become far spread as Chinese version. The Chinese version of toothbrush spread to Europe, where Siberian wild boar took brunt of growing popularity of invention. The only downside to hairs of Siberian wild boar was fact that it was very rough on gums. On account of this, some people began to use hairs found on backs of horses to craft bristles on their brushes, as this was much easier on their gums and teeth. Despite added softness of horse hair bristles, boar hairs were more commonly used, as horses were too valuable to Europeans during this period of time. The boar hair toothbrush continued to be used until early 1900s. In 1937, nylon was created in Du Pont laboratories by Wallace H. Carothers. This invention forever changed history of toothbrush, as well as every other device that required a fibrous material, including ropes. In 1938, Nylon became sign of modernization, from creation of nylon stockings to Dr. West's first nylon toothbrush. This brush was called Dr. West's Miracle Toothbrush. Even with this breakthrough in toothbrush, it wasn't until World War II that Americans began to take oral hygiene more seriously. This was a direct result of war. This influence spurred on development of better toothbrushes. Toothpaste & Whiteners Another aspect of toothbrush history that should be taken into account is toothpaste and other whiteners. These are usually used with toothbrush in order to make certain that teeth and breath were acceptable. The concept of toothpaste and mouth washes is pretty old - almost as old as Egyptians toothbrush. The earliest known toothpaste was created by Egyptians. It was said to contain a drachma of rock salt, two drachmas of mint, one drachma of dried iris flowers and 20 grains of pepper. This was then crushed and mixed together to form a powder. When mixed with saliva and applied to teeth, it would help whiten and clean your teeth. When experimented with by an Australian dentist, mixture worked far better than anything else created until twenty first century. The only downside was fact that it caused his gums to bleed.
| | Nutrition and Your Dog's BehaviorWritten by Jeanne Perciaccanto
Nutrition and Your Dog’s BehaviorProper nutrition is fundamental basis for every aspect of your dog’s life. It affects their health and longevity by offering an essential balance of proteins, fats, complex carbohydrates and trace nutrients and minerals their bodies need for growth, repair and maintains of sound immune system. Nutrition is a complex and integral part of your dog’s ability to think clearly, lower stress levels and a produce a calmer behavior. Thinking takes a lot of energy. Dogs involved in a training program, expend tremendous mental energy focusing on tasks presented to them. If your dog starts with minimal nutrition, they become lethargic, edgy or hyper active when asked to perform simplest of tasks. They cannot focus and loss concentration after a short period of time or become confused. If dog is continually asked to do something they cannot comprehend, confusion can lead to an aggressive form of acting out. In training dogs, first thing I look at is dog’s diet. I work from inside out. Training becomes ineffective if underlying causes for behaviors are not changed. Hyper, unfocused and out of control dogs often are eating foods with high levels of cereal foods such as wheat, corn, and corn meal. Aggressive dogs eat food containing higher levels of incomplete protein which do not digest well. Shy and stressed dogs do not digest their foods well at all and often suffer from intestinal complications such as diarrhea. Their coats are often very dry and shed heavily.
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