The idea of a “toothbrush” has a few different milestones, so there isn’t just one single invention date.

Quick Scoop

  • The earliest tooth-cleaning sticks (“chew sticks”) go back to around 3000 BC in ancient civilizations.
  • The first bristle toothbrush (recognizably like a modern brush) was invented in China around 1498 , using hog bristles on bone or bamboo handles.
  • The first mass-produced modern-style toothbrush in Europe is often credited to William Addis in 1780 in England.
  • The truly modern toothbrush (with nylon bristles instead of animal hair) dates to 1938 , when DuPont introduced nylon bristles.

So, if you’re wondering “when was the toothbrush invented” in the modern sense you’d use today, the key date most sources give is 1938 , when nylon- bristled brushes appeared and started to replace animal-hair versions.