Historically most Americans didn't start brushing their teeth until after World War I. This snapshot of my mother Alta Mae (1917-1986) and her younger brother James Robert (1919-1984) with their toothbrushes proves that my Slater grandparents were keeping up with the times in Niwot, Colorado.
[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]
Ads like these began to show up in magazines and newspapers during the 1920s.
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| [Beauty and Hygiene Ads of the 1920s. Vintage Ad Browser] |
[White Toothbrush Drill, Fairfield, Alabama, 1919. Library of Congress]
[Brushing Teeth, Mission School, Yakutat ca. 1920's. Explore Alaska! A Natural and Cultural History]
Shutterstock has several short 1920s silent films demonstrating the proper way to brush here.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Oh do I love this one! I knew brushing teeth was not an ancient practice but I had no idea it was so recent. No wonder our grandparents' teeth fell out, they were not brushing until they were 40-50 years old! Imagine the bad breath. The little inuit kids brushing is awfully interesting, gotta get that whale blubber off (of course they didn't eat that in the indian school, I know). I wonder: what about Europe? What about the ancient Egyptians? Is there a statue of Isis with a toothbrush?
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