Did you ever wonder where toothpaste came from? Or who invented it? Well, it’s been around a really long time, and no one person invented it. People have been using toothpaste (or a form of it) since around 500 B.C. The Chinese and Egyptian people found out that if they took better care of their teeth, they would last longer. A Chinese man named Huang-Ti studied about teeth and gums, and he found out that gum pain could be helped by sticking gold and silver needles into different parts of the gum and jaw. The Egyptians made a kind of toothpaste powder out of the ashes of egg shells and pumice. We believe that they used their fingers to rub the mixture on their teeth. The Greeks and Romans did a better job of caring for their teeth. They invented a tool for extracting teeth, and they were the first ones to hold teeth together with a gold wire (early braces!) They also found that using a toothstick worked better than just their fingers. Not much more was done for a long time after that. People just brushed their teeth with the toothstick and the eggshells, sometimes mixed with honey or powdered flintstone. (They figured out that the friction was necessary to get the plaque off.) Sometime in the 1800s, they added borax powder to get a foaming effect, and in 1873, a new company named Colgate introduced a better smelling toothpaste in a jar. In 1896, they packaged it in a collapsible tube, much like the tubes we still use today. Around the time of World War II, they decided to stop putting soap in toothpaste because they found out that some people had bad reactions to soap (to say nothing of how bad it tasted!) Finally, a compound called fluoride was discovered to strengthen the enamel against tooth decay. This was a big step forward, and today, most toothpastes contain fluoride. Scientists have estimated that dental decay is reduced by as much as one third by regular use of toothpaste using fluoride.

Disclaimer:

The information in this newsletter is only for the purpose of providing you with information regarding your orthodontic care and treatment. It is not intended to offer any medical or dental advice. Please contact your own dentist or orthodontist for treatment, appliances, or instructions that are right for you.