The history of the toothbrush

Founded in 1780 by William Addis, our company has nearly 230 years of experience in the design and manufacture of toothbrushes.

From the early beginnings using bone and bristle through to today’s designs developed using the latest in modern technology, we have always been committed to providing the best possible oral care products. 
Look back in time and discover the history of the modern toothbrush.

William Addis
Manufacturing processes & Materials
Wisdom – The first toothbrush with nylon filaments
Expanding the business
The modern toothbrush market

William Addis

Today good oral hygiene is an accepted part of almost everyone's daily health routine. However, fresh breath and healthy teeth were not high up the average list of needs back in 1780 when a businessman called William Addis (b. 1734) founded the company which brought us the Wisdom toothbrush.

William Addis's original business was as a "stationer and rag-merchant".  As a supplier of finished paper goods to the retail trade, he came into contact with London's booksellers who were then not only the main suppliers of books and stationery but also the principal retailers of patented medicines and chemist sundries.

Having conceived a toothbrush for his own personal use, William decided that the concept had potential.  In the world of the 18th century there was an urgent need for an effective method of cleaning the teeth, for sugar was being consumed in greater quantities than ever before and tooth decay was a scourge that could only be relieved by extraction. However, it was not until the 1780's that an efficient toothbrush became available.

William used his existing contacts to offer the first commercial toothbrush, which was made from bone and horsehair.  The product was an immediate success and it soon became unfashionable to not have a toothbrush!

The idea of the toothbrush was soon copied and around 1840 toothbrushes were being manufactured in France and later in Germany, as well as in England.  The cheaper labour in those countries encouraged the manufacture of very ornate ones with fancy handles and almost innumerable small knots of bristles. 

Later in the century French manufacturers transported the craft to Japan, and very soon the Japanese were manufacturing even cheaper toothbrushes than had been made in the past.  They were however, still all made with bone handles as also were those made in the United States of America.

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Manufacturing processes & Materials

By 1840 a total of 60 people were employed by the Addis company (now under the management of William's eldest son William) the majority being engaged in the processes of bone and ivory brush manufacture.  The filling of the brushes, i.e. the drawing and securing of hair or bristle into the backs, was done mainly by women working in their own homes.  Fifty three separate processes went into the making of an Addis toothbrush in those days, most of them concerned with the shaping of the handle.  The bones used to make the toothbrush back and handle were ox thigh and buttock bones, which had been boiled to remove fat and grease.  The ends of the bones had already been sawn off (and sold to button makers) as only midsections of the bones were used by brush-makers. 

For toothbrush making, the midsections were sawn longitudinally into five variously shaped strips to suit differently designed brushes.  Next, the pieces were cropped to length to provide the necessary thickness for the brush head; they were then sorted into size into four lengths known as 'Gents', 'Ladies', 'Child's' and 'Tom Thumb'.  The average price of these hand made toothbrushes was 4s (20p) a dozen and they retailed from 6d (2 ½p) each.

Although badger hair was used to fill some of the more expensive brushes, by far the greater proportion were made from bristle (the hair of the hog, pig or boar).  Most supplies were imported from France, Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and Russia.

From those early beginnings, the Addis family business flourished and over the years it continued to introduce new materials, such as the synthetic ivory ‘celluloid’ – a plastic derived from cellulose, which replaced the bone handles, and automated manufacturing processes (injection moulding and automated bristle filling), as they became commercially viable.

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Wisdom - The first toothbrush with nylon filaments

From the outset, Wisdom Toothbrushes was renowned for its innovative products and ideas.  One such innovation followed the invention of an exciting new synthetic material in 1938 - nylon. 

The Addis family immediately approached the UK licensee, ICI, with a view to incorporating the new material into a toothbrush.  Permission was granted and in June 1940 an extensive newspaper advertising campaign introduced the new brush to the public under the Wisdom brand. 

Despite being introduced at a time when Britain was in the midst of war and even though, at two shillings (10p) it was slightly more expensive than contemporary brushes, the Wisdom toothbrush was a great success.  The war years were also significant in that they saw the demise of the hand made bone toothbrush due to an acute shortage of bone following government advice to British housewives to supplement food rations with their use in soups and stews! 

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Expanding the business

Between 1945 and 1996 the Addis business continued to grow, moving toothbrush manufacturing into its current premises in Suffolk and expanding the business into household products.  Over the years the Wisdom brand became a generic for toothbrushes and has maintained its strong market position, despite the entry of other brands into the sector.

Although the Addis family bowed out from the business in 1996, the Wisdom brand continues to flourish, both in the United Kingdom and in those export markets where traditional British brands are regarded as of the highest quality.

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The modern toothbrush market

With more people interested in looking after their health, today’s toothbrush market shows a very different picture from its early beginnings in 1780, In the UK alone consumers spend over £200M on toothbrushes every year!

Each year new designs and technical innovations are launched to provide solutions for improved oral care, but it is interesting to see that, while the materials may be different, many of today's product designs bear an uncanny resemblance to some of the radical ideas put forward by William Addis over 200 years ago.

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