Brusha Brusha Brusha: Tales From my Long Lost Youth

Some nicknames fade with time. Others come with a jingle, a toothbrush the size of a baseball bat, and a reputation for dental devotion that turns into family folklore. In mid-century Michigan, one teenage girl earned the name “Bucky” not for buck teeth, but for brushing hers with the zeal of a cartoon mascot—and the timing couldn’t have been better. Ipana toothpaste was all the rage, Bucky Beaver was battling DK Germ on Saturday morning TV, and the football team had a new legend to tease. 

Jean still chases that sparkle. These days, it’s Crest strips and LED lights instead of Ipana and praise, but the feeling’s the same: pride, nostalgia, and a little bit of vanity. Turns out, childhood nicknames don’t just fade—they evolve. And sometimes, they come with a soundtrack. AI….

I had a few nicknames as a kid and one of them was One-Track. I’d get intrigued by something and ride that train until I learned everything there was to learn about it, then I’d drop the obsession like the proverbial hot potato. I’m still that way to a certain extent. Or maybe I’m just better at hiding what my mom thought was a flaw. And did I mention she’s the one who gave me that nickname? Later in life, my husband picked up on the nickname. But when he used it, it felt more like a compliment and he knew better than to expect me to switch tracks in the middle of one of my hot pursues. 

Another nickname came from my brother—and unlike Mom’s, I secretly loved being called ‘Bucky.' It was the mid 1950’s, when I was 15-16 years old. Jerry, my older brother, was on the high school football team and he saw to it that the nickname and teasing spread among his friends. One day I was walking through the kitchen with a toothbrush hanging out of my mouth and Jerry started singing, “Brusha, brusha, brusha” and his friends joined in with “here’s the new Ipana with a brand new flavor. It’s dandy for your teeth.” Back then I brushed my teeth 5 or 6 times a day and I never stood in front of the bathroom mirror when I did. My brushing sessions lasted 10 or 15 minutes and my mom would yell at me, “You’re going to wear your teeth out from all the brushing.” She forgot that my one-track obsessions never last long enough to wear anything out. 

Ipana toothpaste was a popular brand back in those days due in no small part to a series of animated commercials produced by Disney Studios. Mouseketeer and the master of ceremonies of The Mickey Mouse Club, Jimmie Dodd, did the voice-over for Ipana's mascot, Bucky Beaver. In a series of commercials Bucky took on different roles—Space Guard, Engineer, Stagecoach Driver, Circus Star. One of my favorites—Bucky Beaver as the White Knight—was featured in the 1978 movie Grease.” In each commercial Bucky Beaver fought his nemesis, DK Germ, the villain of all kids with cavities. Those commercials ran with the evening broadcasts and with the Saturday morning cartoons all through the mid '50s.

Before Bucky came along I was used to adults telling me I had pretty teeth. It was an era before braces and my teeth were very straight. It was also an era when having good dental hygiene was not a given. My mom, though, was more diligent than a lot of parents back then. She took my brother and me to a dentist on a regular basis. This was back in the days before they deaden your teeth before drilling on them and after getting a few cavities filled I was determined not to get anymore. Cavities or not. I was brushing not just for hygiene, but for pride and praise, and for the sheer joy of being the kid with the great teeth in a pre-orthodontic world. It was a world where I smiled a lot while some kids with bad teeth hid theirs behind their hand.

Needless to say I was proud of my pearly whites growing up. It was My Thing, as the kids say today, my claim to fame. I especially loved it when my brother and a couple of his friends presented me with a 3 or 4 foot long toothbrush that they supposedly found in the trash behind a drug store. It felt like I was getting an award for my dental diligence. What teenage girl wouldn’t like being the center of attention for half the football team? That day could have been an episode straight out of Happy Days except for the fact that while I may have been like Richie’s little sister Joane, my brother was more like Fonzie in the TV series, always pushing the envelope on what he could get away with. And if I told on him? I was 'Miss Goody Two Shoes' or the classic, 'tattle-tail.'

I don’t know what happened to the giant tooth brush but it disappeared one day and now some 70 years later I wonder if they stole the brush, got caught and had to return it.

As most people do these days, I get my teeth cleaned twice a year and at a recent cleaning I expressed how unhappy I was that my teeth are not as white as they used to be. I’m careful about what I drink that can stain them and even after these professional cleanings I’ve been ashamed of how yellow my teeth still are. The hygienist recommended a Crest Professional Whitening kit. I’d tried the over the counter kit version without much luck but she told me the advanced kits they sell are different. For one thing you put the strips of peroxide on your teeth for an hour a day for 30 days then ‘bake’ the peroxide in for five minutes with a blue led light that comes in the kit. With the over the counter kits the peroxide laced strips are applied for 45 minutes and they don’t come with a light. I’m two weeks into the process and already I can see a difference. Whether anyone else will see the difference, remains a mystery but it will be worth the $50 to me to if I get my ‘pearly whites’ back again.

My AI friend told me there is something timeless about childhood nicknames, especially when they come with a jingle. I dare you to watch the collection of old Ipana commercials below and not spend the day singing, “Brusha, brusha brusha here’s the new Ipana with a brand new flavor. It’s dandy for your teeth.” ©

 

 And just for fun, here's Ross from Friends when he whitened his teeth and left the strips on too long...