The pinyin for toothpick is yá qiān.

A toothpick, expressed in English as toothpick, dentiscalprum, is a small wooden or bamboo stick used to remove debris from the crevices of teeth. The correct history of the toothpick remains uncertain, but archaeologists have found indentations in prehistoric people's teeth similar to the use of a toothpick, as well as remnants of small bamboo sticks between teeth.

Because of its tiny size, the fact that it was usually made of wood or bamboo, and the fact that it could easily be reduced to ashes, it has had a low profile, and indeed there is very little evidence of its invention in history. Fortunately, Chinese archaeologists have unearthed toothpicks made of beaten gold, dating from around the end of the Han Dynasty.

This kind of gold toothpick belonged to a small number of royalty, not common people have, but still can prove that the 3rd century AD China has a toothpick. The toothpick is also known as "pick stick" and so on.

It is a wooden, bamboo, corn or plastic stick with one or both ends sharpened and plastic dental floss, or a wooden or bamboo stick with special bones from certain animals such as ivory or fish, used to remove tartar or debris from between teeth, or a synthetic toothpick (such as a Swiss Army knife), which is an important oral hygiene tool, and which has been used for more than 2,000 years.

The role of the toothpick:

The toothpick, usually a small thin stick with a pointed end or two pointed ends, there is also the front end of the hooked, a pointed end of the toothpick where it is flat, it can be broken down to frame the head of the toothpick. Generally made of bamboo, wood or metal.

Can be used to clean the mouth, remove tartar and stuffed in the tooth gap foreign objects or food debris. Its use is relatively wide, almost the world's people after meals common household items, usually in restaurants, hotels, restaurants and home, etc. are stocked. However, if you use it often, it will lead to the gap between the teeth to become bigger.