The Invention The Invention of Toothpasteof Toothpaste

• We all use TOOTHPASTE, hopefully everyday!

• We probably cannot imagine a world where people do not use toothpaste

• Toothpaste helps to keep out teeth healthy and us OUT of the dentist’s office!

• But who invented toothpaste?!And

• How did it change the world?

Before I added soap, toothpaste

had gone through many different

phases and included a lot of ingredients that we would think

are GROSS today!

I want to share with you the evolution of toothpaste!

Did you know that the oldest recipe for toothpaste is from Ancient Egypt, the 4th century AD, and

included one drachma of rock salt - a measure equal to one hundredth of an ounce - two drachmas of

mint, one drachma of dried iris flower and 20 grains of pepper, all of them crushed and mixed

together!!!!! It made your gums bleed, but your teeth clean!

I added SOAP to toothpaste in the year

1824!

• The development of toothpaste began as long ago as 300/500BC in 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.

OUCH!

OUCH!

First attempts at tooth cleaning included: using abrasives such as crushed bone

crushed egg and oyster shells, which were used to clean debris from teeth.

Tooth powders were the first noticeableadvance and were made up of elements like

powdered charcoal, powdered bark and some flavoring agents.

This would be applied to teeth using a simple stick.

The activity of keeping the mouth clean dates all the way back to the religious

figure Buddha.

• Drinking goats milk for sweet breath

• Ashes from burnt mice heads, rabbits heads, wolves heads, ox heels and goats feet were

thought to benefit the gums

• Picking the bones out of wolves excrement and wearing them was considered to be a form of

protection against toothaches.

• Washing your teeth with the blood from a tortoise three times a year was a sure bet against

toothaches as well.

• Mouthwashes were known to consist of pure white wine, or old urine kept especially for this purpose.

I’m glad that I wasn’t around for this!

The Chinese constructed natural bristled brushes from

the hair of Siberian wild boars, affixing them to bone

or bamboo handles

Soft sticks were chewed at one end to create a brush

and sharpened at the other end as a toothpick.

The Chinese would even use

specific aromatic plant

species to leave a fresh taste in their

mouths

The earliest record of an actual toothpaste was in 1780 and included scrubbing the teeth with a formula containing burnt

bread.

Other toothpastes around this time called for:

1 1/2 oz. dragons blood 1 1/2 oz. cinnamon1 oz. burnt alum

Beat the above ingredients together and use every second day.

To keep the Dentist away!?!?!

Toothpaste 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.

A dentist called Peabody was the first to add soap to toothpaste in 1824.

Chalk was first added to toothpaste by John Harris in the 1850s.

In 1873, toothpaste was first mass-produced nice smelling toothpaste in a jar.

In 1892, Dr. Washington Sheffield of Connecticut was the first to put toothpaste into a collapsible tube.

Sheffield's toothpaste was called Dr. Sheffield's Creme Dentifrice.

HERE IS WHERE I COME

IN

The 19th century saw charcoal became very popular for teeth cleaning purposes.

Most toothpastes at this time were in the form of a powder.

The purpose of the tooth powder was not only to clean the teeth, but to give fresh breath.

The succulent strawberry was considered to be a "natural" solution for preventing tartar and giving fresh

breath.

In 1855, the Farmers Almanac included this recipe for an appropriate toothpaste:

1 oz. myrrh (fine powder) 2 spoonfuls of your best honey A pinch of green sage

Mix together and use every night on wet teeth.

We use charcoal for fire!!

The 1960's saw the introduction of fluoride into toothpaste.

This development was followed in the 1980's with the addition of soluble calcium fluoride to fluoride

toothpastes.

It is therefore within the last thirty years that toothpastes contains the two ingredients - calcium

and fluoride.

In 1915 leaves from certain trees in South East Asia (Eucalyptus) were beginning to be used in mouthwash

formulas

Liquid cleansers (mouth rinses) and pastes became more popular, often containing chlorophyll to give a fresh

green color.

Bleeding gums became a concern as well as aching teeth.

Wow what improvements

!

So....what's in the toothpaste of today?

sodium monofluorophosphate color flavoring fluoride foaming agents

detergentshumectants (prevent the paste from hardening)

Herbal toothpastes have gained popularity for people looking for a "natural" toothpaste or for those who don't want fluoride in their dental

cleansers.

Some herbal toothpastes contain: peppermint oil myrrh plant extract (strawberry extract) special

oils and cleansing agents

I’d say we’ve come full

circle!

Teeth before toothpaste,

YUCK!

Teeth after

toothpaste!

http://www.toothbrushexpress.com/html/toothpaste_history.html

http://www.parentingtoddlers.com/toothpaste-history.html

http://www.toothpasteworld.com/history.htm

We all want you to brush your teeth every single day!