BY MICHELINA ANDREUCCI
On 24 March each year we commemorate the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s), World Oral Health Day (WOHD). But how many know the history behind the toothpaste.
Although modern oral hygiene with toothpaste, toothbrush and floss began only in the 1950s, the quest for clean teeth and a clean mouth date back at least 5,000 years. Around 3,000 BC, the ancient Egyptians developed a dental paste made of oxen hooves, myrrh, eggshells, pumice and water.
A pumice (stone) mixture is still used today by dentists and dental hygienists to professionally clean and polish teeth.
Historians suggest that the world’s oldest-known formula for toothpaste was created by Egyptians, in the year 4 AD. They used crushed rock salt, mint, dried flowers, and pepper mixed together to create an abrasive powder. But it was not until the late 1700s that the first modern toothpaste, usually homemade, appeared
In the year 1780, it was know that people cleaned their teeth with a powder that was mostly made of burnt bread, among the ingredients, or dragon’s blood, a natural, dark red plant resin. Early versions of tooth cleansers in the 1800’s were in powder form and included ingredients such as soap, chalk and ground charcoal.
In historic times, different forms of tooth cleaning tools have been used throughout the world. The early Chinese were said to apply ground fish bones to their teeth for the same purpose, and the ancient Romans and Greeks allegedly used crushed bones and oyster shells with a little powdered charcoal and bark to help freshen the breath.
The people in China and India, who this day sill incorporate exotic herbs in their recipes, first used toothpaste around 500 BC and used ingredients such as ginseng, herbal mints and salt. Indian Ayurveda medicine used the neem tree, or daatun, as teeth cleaning twigs, as was common in ancient Zimbabwe where chew sticks were produced from certain tree twigs for cleaning teeth.
The Arabs during the Middle Ages evidently tried fine sand and used the miswak, or siwak, made from a twig or root, with antiseptic properties, and has been widely used since the Islamic Golden Age. The Europeans experimented with table salt. Rubbing baking soda or chalk against the teeth was also common.
In 1824, a dentist named Peabody was the first person to add soap to dental paste, followed by John Harris in the 1850s, who added chalk as an ingredient to toothpaste. About 20 years later, in 1873, Colgate was the first to mass-produced toothpaste in a jar, and in the 1890’s, it produced toothpaste in tubes, similar to those we use today.
A landmark change occurred in toothpaste (dentifrice) 1892, when Dr. Washington Sheffield, an American dentist, thought it unsanitary for multiple people to dip their toothbrushes into one jar of toothpaste and developed the first toothpaste in a collapsible tube; supposedly inspired by artists paint tubes. Fluoride, which the American Dental Association (ADA), calls “nature’s cavity fighter” for its cavity-fighting benefits, was introduced into toothpaste in 1914.
Toothpaste with floride, or alternatives such as nano-hydroxyapatite, is an important tool to readily use when tooth brushing. The fluoride (or alternative) in the dentifrice is an important protective factor against caries and an important supplement needed to remineralize affected teeth enamel.
Significant improvements followed after World War II. Up until 1945, toothpaste contained soap, but, advancements in synthetic detergents enabled manufacturers to replace the soap used in toothpaste with emulsifying agents that worked better.
In 1955, Leonard Marraffino invented the first striped toothpaste /dentifrice.
“Aquafresh”, which, together with ‘Closeup’ is also available in Zimbabwe, is recognized by its three distinct stripes: the original blue and white, and a third red stripe. The value of these products can be found in their core benefits: freshness, fighting tooth decay, and healthy gums. Whitening agents to brighten teeth were first introduced in toothpaste In the mid-1980s.
Toothpaste /dentifrice today contains water and three main ingredients: an abrasive, fluoride and detergents, with many different brands and flavours offering a range of choices. Depending on your toothpaste, however, these ingredients might decrease in potency over time and reduce the toothpaste’s eventual ineffectiveness.
Good oral and dental hygiene can help prevent bad breath, tooth decay and gum disease—and can help you keep your teeth as you get older. To better ensure you enjoy a cavity-free life, all toothpaste ingredients need to be fresh and effective; so if you want to get the most out of a tube of toothpaste, be mindful of its quality.
Establishing good oral hygiene and dietary habits have been proven to be essential to achieving and maintaining, overall physical and emotional well-being throughout life.
Michelina Andreucci is a Zimbabwean-Italian researcher. She is a published author in her field. For comments E- mail:linamanucci@gmail.com
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