Whether for hygiene, luxury or custom, the stick or toothpick is considered to be the instrument of dental cleaning oldest and known by all cultures. Some research indicates that people cleaned their teeth with small pieces of wood (predecessors of the brush).
The toothpicks, as is known in some places, was used in times of splendor and luxury. However, at other times was considered an unpopular subject.
Made from precious metals and decorated with precious stones such as emeralds and rubies, chopsticks were considered luxury items and use them represented a status in the seventeenth century.
There are anecdotes of the use of this little instrument. In Spain, bringing a toothpick in his mouth meant that he had eaten and was a wealthy person. In Rome, the stick was fashionable among the ladies of high society.
Used tool kits attached to a ring: one to clean ears, a holder of two teeth cleaned for the nails and scratching and a toothpicks.
In the Middle East, India, China, Japan and became popular a few pointy sticks, taken by the Muslim religion. The Chinese wore earrings bronze with toothpicks of the same metal.
Jews, Greeks and Romans used wooden toothpicks, feathers, straw, reeds, brass, iron, silver and gold. The Greeks used to walk with lentiscus in the mouth, like its neighbors.
Paleontological investigations indicate that 2 million years ago, our ancestors used this unique tool to ease the pain of the gums. We also have been found chopsticks made of bronze prehispanic buried in graves in northern Italy and in the eastern Alps.
Another study shows that the ancient hominids were concerned for his health and dental devices used to clean their teeth. This hypothesis came to check that the remains of the primitive had a curved grooves on the roots of the teeth, which can be worn grass stalks as toothpicks, according Leslea Hulsko, a researcher at the University of Illinois, United States and responsible of the investigation.
The grooves were found in dental tooth fossils dating back 1.8 million years what would make this scenario, if certified, the oldest human custom to date.

A study confirmed that the mercury in dental fillings do not alter brain development of children, as some believe.
The silver amalgam has been used for a century to fill cavities. These fillings consist of a combination of metals, including mercury. Some studies showed that release small doses of mercury vapor.
Mercury poisoning damages the central nervous system and kidneys, and some specialists are concerned that exposure to low levels of this metal in amalgam affect children's health.
A team of researchers from Portugal and the United States-controlled to 507 children between 8 and 12 years who had amalgam fillings or resin. For seven years, there were no differences between groups in the incidence of neurological symptoms such as tremors, impaired vision or hearing, and disturbances in coordination.

The results are joining the evidence of two other recent works, including one conducted on the same group of children found no evidence that amalgam damage to the intellectual development or behavioral.
A panel of experts noted that although there is evidence that these fillings are safe, more studies are needed on some questions that have no answer, like how much amalgam in pregnant women might affect fetal development.
Some consumer groups, dentists and lawmakers believe it is necessary to prohibit the use of amalgam. The American Dental Association (ADA) maintains that scientific evidence indicates that the fillings are safe and which should be kept as an option for patients.