The History Of Toothpaste

The development of toothpaste began as long ago as 300/500BC in the ancient countries of China and India.

According to Chinese history, a learned man, Huang-Ti, studied the care of teeth and claimed different types of pain felt in the mouth could be cured by sticking gold and silver needles into different parts of the jaw and gum. It was theories such as these that led to the development of dental cream.

During the years 3000/5000BC, Egyptians made toothpaste using a recipe of powdered ashes of hooves of oxen, myrrh, powdered and burned egg shells and pumice. Directions were given that all should be mixed together, but there were no specific instructions as to how the powder should be used.

It is assumed that the ancient Egyptians used their fingers to rub the mixture onto teeth. The toothstick, the forerunner of the toothbrush had not, as far as is known, been discovered at this time.

From the records of the ancient countries of India, China and Egypt, it was the Greeks and Romans who developed and improved toothpaste.

The Greeks and Romans who developed a leaden instrument for the extraction of teeth were also the first to bind loose teeth together and to support artificial teeth by means of gold wire.

With the fall of the Roman Empire, the evolution and development of toothpaste became less clear and little is known of any changes in the years between the coming of Christ and 1000AD.

During 1000AD, evidence shows the Persians further developed toothpaste. According to writings, advice was given on the dangers of using hard toothpowders and recommendations were made to make toothpowder from burnt hartshorn, the burnt shells of snails and oysters and burned gypsum.

Other Persian recipes included dried animal parts, herbs, honey and minerals. One formula for strengthening teeth included green lead, verdigris, incense, honey and powdered flintstone.

Toothpowder or dentifrice was first available in Britain in the late eighteenth century. It came in a ceramic pot and was available either as a powder or paste. The rich applied it with brushes and the poor with their fingers.

The powders were developed by doctors, dentists and chemists and often contained ingredients that were highly abrasive and harmful to the teeth, such as brick dust, china, earthenware or cuttlefish.

To make them more palatable, toothpowders contained glycerine. By the early nineteenth century, the ingredient stronchium was introduced. It was used primarily to strengthen teeth and reduce sensitivity, but it only really concentrated on the gums.

In the late eighteenth century, borax powder was used to get the foaming effect.

In 1873, Colgate introduced an aromatic toothpaste in a jar in the U.S. In 1896, Colgate Dental Cream was the first to be packaged in collapsible tubes similar to those in use today.

Before the Second World War, the majority of toothpaste on the market used soap as an emulsifying agent, even though it was known that soap had certain inherent defects such as:

• Soap was only effective as a detergent in a rather alkaline solution
• The taste of soap affected the flavour
• Soap is incompatible with calcium salts found in saliva and hard water
• Soap cannot be used in formulations, which incorporate certain polishing agents such as dicalcium phosphate

Following the Second World War, advancements in synthetic detergents meant soap was no longer used in toothpaste and emulsifying agents such as Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and Sodium Ricinoleate used instead.

Toothpaste manufactures such as Colgate continue to research and improve the efficiency of toothpaste. The discovery that fluoride and fluoride compounds, when introduced into toothpaste, strengthened the enamel against tooth decay was a significant step forward.

Trials in the UK which lasted for 3 years showed that dental decay was reduced by as much as one third by regular use of Colgate toothpaste containing fluoride.