Squibb introduced the Broxodent, the first commercially successful electric toothbrush, in 1960.
The Broxodent was developed by the Swiss inventor Philippe-Guy Woog and marketed in the United States by the pharmaceutical company E. R. Squibb and Sons. Its launch helped move powered toothbrushing from a novelty toward a consumer oral-care product.
The Broxodent was not the first electric toothbrush ever conceived. Earlier powered designs existed, including devices developed before the 1960s, but they did not achieve comparable commercial success. The key distinction is therefore between the earliest invention and the first widely successful product.
Squibb later became part of Bristol-Myers Squibb. Philips subsequently became strongly associated with electric toothbrushes through Sonicare, which was introduced decades after the Broxodent and should not be confused with Squibb’s pioneering product.