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Through mass media, society is bombarded with information about how important brushing is to good health. The combined use of toothpaste and flossing, gum disease, cavities, and eventual tooth loss can be avoided. Retailers provide shelves full of toothpaste choices, everything from gels to pastes, spearmint to watermelon flavors, with whiteners and brighteners, in tubes and bottle. The options are endless.
It is hard to imagine toothpaste was not always a common hygiene item or as tasty as it is now. In fact, one of the earliest records show the development of toothpaste began in 300-500 BC. According the Chinese history, the care of teeth began when a man claimed he could cure different pains in his mouth by sticking gold and silver needles into different locations in his mouth. Not as convenient as oral care is today, but at least it was a start in the right direction.
Over the centuries, improvements were made. Around 4000 BC, the Egyptians made toothpaste from a mixture of such items as powdered ashes made from ox hooves, myrrh, eggshells, and pumice. In 1000 AD, the Persians adjusted the mixture to reduce the dangers noted with earlier recipes. They also began the long road toward creating flavorful toothpaste by adding herbs, honey, and other minerals. It was around this time the concern switch to strengthening the teeth rather than treating already damaged teeth and gums.
By the late eighteenth century, toothpowders were commonly available in ceramic pots. These powders were created by men of science out of such ingredients as brick dust, china, or cuttlefish, many proving more harmful to teeth than not.
It wasn’t until the 1870’s products even vaguely resembling the toothpaste we use today came available, and not surprisingly, it was created by Colgate and was packaged a the first collapsible tubes. But even up through War World II, the majority of the toothpaste on the market was made of the same emulsifying agents as used in soap. These agents made the toothpaste taste like soap giving the old saying about “washing your mouth out with soap” a whole new meaning.
After War World II the soap emulsifiers were replaced with ingredients still used today such as sodium fluoride, a cleansing product that gives the paste its bulk, with triclosan, a whitener, and a variety of flavorings. Fluoride is probably the best known and best known. It is currently considered the most effective means of fighting plague and cavities. But the manufacturers haven’t stopped improving on a good thing. One such improvement may relate to studies showing plaque grows back within 3 to 4 hours of brushing. A longer lasting solution can only mean stronger teeth for everyone.
Given the choice of powdered ashes of oxen hooves, acupuncture to relieve mouth pain, or experiencing the pain of infected gums, brush after each meal with a tasty gel doesn’t seem like such a bother now.
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