" The bristles in those early toothbrushes were hand-plucked from the backs of hogs' necks and became so popular in Europe that it was hard to find a hog that didn't have a sore neck. Hog bristles, however, were uncomfortably stiff. "

" It wasn't until about 50 years ago that the ideal substance was found, when the United States produced the first synthetic-bristle toothbrush — a breakthrough that was met with great acclaim and rejoicing, especially by hogs. "

" IT'S CURIOUS that, while dental researchers today are still working on ways to whiten teeth safely, the process of whitening teeth goes all the way back to 1308, when dentists were also surgeons and barbers. In fact, the chief dental operation of those days — apart from extractions — was whitening teeth. "

" It was a pretty grim and stupid process. The grimness stemmed from the fact that the dentist first filed a patient's teeth with a coarse rasp, then coated them with a solution of corrosive nitric acid. "

" THE ONLY remedy for decay in those days was extraction (a grisly and painful process) and many people — including some of history's most famous names — were terrified at the prospect and endured great discomfort rather than submit to it. "

" It was noted that when Louis XIV of France revoked the Edict of Nantes, which had established religious tolerance, in 1685, he was racked by tooth infection. "

" And Elizabeth I of England was terrified at the thought of having her decayed teeth extracted and refused to have it done — until the bishop of London volunteered to have
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