The first toothpaste in its current form appeared in 1873. Toothpaste is defined as “a chemical formula used by brushing to clean the surfaces of the teeth with the aim of securing the aesthetic aspect of cleaning, polishing, obtaining a pleasant-smelling breath, and preventing tooth decay by adding drugs to treat them with the supporting tissues.”
The oldest known attempt to manufacture toothpaste was in Egypt 5,000 years ago, and it consisted of one drachma of salt, two drachmas of mint, twenty grains of black pepper, and particles of dried iris flowers – which scientists recently discovered protect against gum disease. It is a very accurate unit of weight equivalent to one-hundredth of an ounce, and of course this amount does not fill the toothpaste tube, so they used to make it each time to clean the teeth for one time only.
Heinz Newman, one of the famous dentists, says that he tried to make the previous formula himself, but he found it uncomfortable and caused pain in the gums, but he felt very refreshing and extremely clean.
Lisa Schwabash Sheriff, curator of the Egyptian Antiquities Museum in San Jose, California, said: The ancient Egyptians cared a lot about teeth and used to grind the ingredients to be very fine and the particles of the flower (iris) would mix. She added: The ancient Egyptians tried various treatments for the teeth and gums, including chewing gum similar to modern gum now in order to give a good smell to the mouth and put honey, mint and anti-disease materials in it as well.
It is noteworthy that researchers discovered a formula for toothpaste in documents from the (Pharaonic) papyrus in Vienna, Austria. This discovery also adds new evidence that the medical system in ancient Egypt was one of the most advanced at the time. And in the ninth century, Ziryab invented the first toothpaste, which was popularized throughout Andalusia. The exact ingredients of this paste are not currently known, but it is said to have achieved both “functionality and good taste”.
By the year 1900, baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) was developed by adding a small amount of hydrogen peroxide (oxygen water) to it, and this was the beginning of marketing the aforementioned paste. But it wasn’t until World War I that it outgrew the popularity of tooth powder. Previously, toothpaste was sold in small jars, and people would push a toothbrush into the jar to pick up some of the paste, and then brush.
In 1892, Dr. Washington and Bennett Sheffield thought of a better idea. He noticed that painters buy oil colors in metal tubes, so he thought of quoting the method of putting toothpaste in a metal tube, and he actually implemented that, and people liked that method because of its cleanliness and ease of use. Use and the idea spread instantly. Fluoride was added to toothpastes in the fifties of the twentieth century. Fluoride is “fluorine salts” and is usually used to prevent tooth decay, the most important of which are “calcium fluoride” and “sodium fluoride”.
The fluoride concentrates in the tooth enamel, forming the “fluorpatite” compound that is resistant to dissolution. It is also concentrated in the primary caries areas and in the “bacterial plaques”, where it slowly begins to have a positive effect on the “enamel” and a negative effect on the work of acids. In addition, it acts as an anti-bacterial agent.
