History Lesson – How America Started Brushing Teeth

When Did People Start Brushing Their Teeth?

Most people started brushing their teeth by the 1930’s.

In the early 1900’s only 7% of American household brushed their teeth or at least had toothpaste in their houses. During World War 1 most of the Army recruits had such poor oral hygiene that the military considered dental disease a national crisis.

That’s when creator of a minty tooth paste “Pepsodent” approached an advertisement man, Claude Hopkins, to launch his product. Only after receiving a 6-month option on a block of stock did Hopkins agree to proceed with the project. Thus out of need to sell a product he created a new habit of brushing teeth daily throughout USA and the rest of the world. It was at this time that people started brushing their teeth.

10 years after his 1st campaign launch more than 65% of Americans developed a daily habit of brushing their teeth. By 1930s Pepsodent was sold throughout the world and for more than 30 years it remained a top selling American toothpaste earning billions of dollars. By the end of the World War 2 the American military downgraded their concern for oral hygiene because a lot of recruits had established a daily brushing routine.

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