Toothbrush

BOSTON -- The origin of this species of rant was a toothbrush. A new toothbrush. A new toothbrush that came with an instructional DVD. The owner of this advanced piece of dental equipment had been brushing his teeth lo these many years without any educational aides at all. But now he was the proud owner of an "IntelliClean System" equipped with packets of paste to be downloaded into the toothbrush's hard drive. The good news is that his toothbrush - excuse me, his cleaning system - does not connect his fillings directly to the Internet or allow instant messaging with other people's bicuspids.

You didn't bring the outdoor furniture inside for the winter, or even cover it. Now, your chairs and patio table, even the umbrella, look ugly. No need to panic. Just give them a good cleaning. Working with wicker: --To clean woven furniture, you'll need to get into and around those intricate weaves. And that requires a variety of brushes - a new toothbrush (stiffer bristles); a small paintbrush with bristles cut down by half, to make them stiffer; and a bristle brush with medium bristles.

A man who police said shot his brother with an assault rifle during an argument over a toothbrush was charged yesterday with attempted murder, Baltimore County police said.Jeffrey Van Moretz, 34, of the 5400 block of Forge Road wasbeing held yesterday at the Baltimore County Detention Center without bail. He also is charged with first-degree assault.His brother, Thomas William Moretz, 41, of the same address, was in critical condition yesterday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.According to police, the older brother was angry with his younger brother about his missing toothbrush about 8: 30 p.m. Wednesday.

BOSTON -- The origin of this species of rant was a toothbrush. A new toothbrush. A new toothbrush that came with an instructional DVD. The owner of this advanced piece of dental equipment had been brushing his teeth lo these many years without any educational aides at all. But now he was the proud owner of an "IntelliClean System" equipped with packets of paste to be downloaded into the toothbrush's hard drive. The good news is that his toothbrush - excuse me, his cleaning system - does not connect his fillings directly to the Internet or allow instant messaging with other people's bicuspids.

Forget the Eames chair, the Le Corbusier sofa. This just might be the golden age of toothbrush design. Today's toothbrushes have curves, arches, waves and squiggles. They have rubber grips, thumb stops and ergonomic shapes. The nylon bristles are micro-textured, multicolored, multileveled and multiangled. They can be flexible or squishy, ridged or rippled, full or compact. Manufacturers are coming out with new models and variations at a rate more familiar to the car industry. The $650 million-a-year business is big and getting bigger.

Should I throw away my toothbrush after I've had a cold? No. Nor should you waste your money on commercially available toothbrush "sanitizers" or special mouthwashes or disinfecting solutions. Thoroughly rinsing the toothbrush with tap water "does remove most of what's caught there," said Dr. Dana Graves, a professor of periodontology and oral biology at the Boston University School of Dental Medicine. And leaving the brush uncovered so it can dry between uses or using a toothpaste containing a disinfectant also helps reduce the amount of live bacteria and viruses on the brush.

CINCINNATI - Procter & Gamble Co. increased its fiscal fourth-quarter profit forecast yesterday because of higher sales of Tide detergent and Crest toothbrushes, and rising currencies in Europe and Japan. Profit, excluding costs for plant closings and selling product lines, will rise by a percentage in the "high teens" from 63 cents a share in the year-earlier period, the company said, declining to be more specific. The largest U.S. maker of household goods, which makes half of its sales overseas, has been helped by an 8 percent increase in the euro and a 3 percent rise in the Japanese yen in the past three months.

The modern toothbrush, with bristles at right angles to the handle, apparently dates to 1498 in China. Its first mention was in the 17th century Chinese encyclopedia. -- Reader's Digest Book of Firsts

Sometimes an idea is so simple, it's overlooked - until a child gets involved. Puneet Nanda, an entrepreneur in Los Angeles, hit upon the Fire Fly Toothbrush after playing games with his young daughter to get her to brush her teeth for the correct length of time. He figured that she liked her flashing tennis shoes so much, why not put a time-activated blinking light on the brush? A fad was born. Today, the Fire Fly Toothbrush is the leading toothbrush sold nationwide at Target stores.

My 16-month-old daughter will not permit a toothbrush to pass her lips, with or without help. I'd appreciate any advice.Robin Smart,Guelph, OntarioLet your child brush your teeth first and then brush hers, turning an unpleasant task into play. Or buy her a toothbrush that jingles or glows in the dark. Or make up a silly song while brushing.Those are just a few of the ideas parents suggest to get a stubborn toddler to open wide at tooth-brushing time.Just make sure the job gets done, says Marvin Berman, a pediatric dentist in Chicago.

Should I throw away my toothbrush after I've had a cold? No. Nor should you waste your money on commercially available toothbrush "sanitizers" or special mouthwashes or disinfecting solutions. Thoroughly rinsing the toothbrush with tap water "does remove most of what's caught there," said Dr. Dana Graves, a professor of periodontology and oral biology at the Boston University School of Dental Medicine. And leaving the brush uncovered so it can dry between uses or using a toothpaste containing a disinfectant also helps reduce the amount of live bacteria and viruses on the brush.

Sometimes an idea is so simple, it's overlooked - until a child gets involved. Puneet Nanda, an entrepreneur in Los Angeles, hit upon the Fire Fly Toothbrush after playing games with his young daughter to get her to brush her teeth for the correct length of time. He figured that she liked her flashing tennis shoes so much, why not put a time-activated blinking light on the brush? A fad was born. Today, the Fire Fly Toothbrush is the leading toothbrush sold nationwide at Target stores.

More Americans are buying electric toothbrushes than ever before thanks to less-expensive technology, increased marketing and growing approval from dentists. Sales grew 23 percent between 2002 and last year, according to Information Resources Inc., a Chicago-based retail-tracking group. "If you buy the nice quality ones, it's great," said Savvy Palmer of Baltimore, an electric toothbrush user who believes the technology cleans better. Consumers also bought fewer manual toothbrushes, with sales falling 6 percent between 2002 and last year, Information Resources reported.

The modern toothbrush, with bristles at right angles to the handle, apparently dates to 1498 in China. Its first mention was in the 17th century Chinese encyclopedia. -- Reader's Digest Book of Firsts

A New York auction of more than 300 pieces of space memorabilia took in more than $443,000 over the weekend, including $18,400 paid by a Scarsdale lawyer for a plastic toothbrush carried to the moon by Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin. But two of the most poignant items in the sale - a flight suit and helmet offered by the family of Columbia astronaut David Brown - were withdrawn after NASA told the family the equipment was still government property. Officials at Swann Galleries said the two Brown items had been expected to sell for at least $48,000.

Scott Dustin's artwork has a way of getting noticed. The eyes of passers-by are naturally drawn to an eagle lifting its wings atop a tree along Bethany Lane in Ellicott City, a 13-foot-tall white rabbit standing watch over a garden on Ten Oaks Road in Dayton, or a 15-foot-tall wooden toothbrush (the world's largest, he says), which Dustin made for a dentist in Quakertown, Pa. "People find they become local celebrities" when they have the carvings at their homes, Dustin said. "It kind of brings communities together."

Prison could not quell William Addis' industrious spirit. One day, the 18th-century Englishman swiped a bone from his jail's soup pot. Over the next days, he whittled it into a handle. Then, he bribed a guard to bring him bristles and glue. He used those ingredients to fashion a toothbrush. Addis' ingenuity spawned a toothbrush dynasty that would see his descendants become England's leading dental health suppliers. During World War II, they slipped miniature maps of Germany into the hollow shafts of brushes produced for the army, so if captured, soldiers might have help escaping.

Fielder is a Tiger with teeth wisdomDetroit Tigers cleanup hitter Cecil Fielder is on the cusp of something: getting children to brush off after plate appearances.Fielder has helped form Sports Dent to market hygiene products such as Bat-A-Brush, a toothbrush shaped like -- guess what? -- a bat."It was something I was definitely interested in . . . getting kids into the bathroom and brushing their chops a little bit more," he said.Other products include a toothbrush holder that plays "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," a floss dispenser shaped like home plate and baseball cards on which kids can record their RBI: Runs Brushed In.CBA: Carry Bags AnywhereIf Kermit Holmes, formerly of the University of Oklahoma, is looking to settle down, he'd better find another trade, so to speak.

CINCINNATI - Procter & Gamble Co. increased its fiscal fourth-quarter profit forecast yesterday because of higher sales of Tide detergent and Crest toothbrushes, and rising currencies in Europe and Japan. Profit, excluding costs for plant closings and selling product lines, will rise by a percentage in the "high teens" from 63 cents a share in the year-earlier period, the company said, declining to be more specific. The largest U.S. maker of household goods, which makes half of its sales overseas, has been helped by an 8 percent increase in the euro and a 3 percent rise in the Japanese yen in the past three months.

THE EGYPTIANS have the pyramids. The Romans have the Coliseum. The French have the Eiffel Tower - and I have my bathroom shelf. It is a thing of beauty. Like all master strokes, the glass shelf reflects the balance of man and his environment, even if this shelf is still not quite level. It also serves a testimony to the triumph of will, to the power of ingenuity, and to the benefit of making multiple trips to hardware stores. Like many of life's great triumphs, this saga began when somebody screwed up. In this case it was a couple of workmen who failed, a few years ago, to properly secure the shelf to the wall.