The first toothpaste was mentioned in the papyrus of the Ancient Egyptians in the 4th century. The toothpaste was used to get white teeth, the toothpaste consisted from soot, gum and water.
Romans in the 9th century added crushed bones or oyster shells in order to get more whiter teeth.
Ziryab (789-857), improved the toothpaste and gave it a better taste. Ziryab toothpaste might has been used with Miswak sticks. The Miswak was used by the Muslims as teeth cleaner in its natural state.
In the 18th century another toothpaste recipe was produced in USA and England.
In the year 1892, the English dentist Washington Sheffield introduced the collapsible tube as a container for the toothpaste. The tube was made from lead.
In the year 1890 Fluoride was added to the toothpaste by the German company Karl F. Toellner. But it was not before the year 1955, when the first clinically proven fluoride-containing toothpaste was produced by Procter & Gamble’s Crest.
By the 19th century the tooth powder was available, it was formed from salt, chalk or bricks.
At the beginning of the 20th century a new toothpaste made of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda.
There were also writings about objects used as toothbrushes as sticks, bird feathers or animal bones. It was mentioned in the Chinese writings in the 15th century B.C..
In the year 1223, the Japanese noticed the the Chinese toothbrush and transferred it to the Europeans.
In the year 1780, the English William Addis produced the first toothbrush by drilling holes in an animal bone and fixing some bristles in it.
In the year 1857, H. N. Wadsworth produced the toothbrush mass production.
By the beginning of the 20th century the animal bone was replaced, while the animal bristles were replaced by synthetic fibers in the year 1938 by the American DuPont.
In the year 1954, the electric toothbrush was invented in Switzerland.