Toothpaste

Brushing our teeth is something that we do daily, and often we never stop and think about where the tradition came from and how toothpaste was first created. Well, here we will do a little bit of that. One of the first recorded instances of cleaning the mouth dates all the way back to the time of Buddha (23-79 AD). During this time, it is said that Buddhawould use a “tooth stick”, which was given to him from the God Sakka, as part of hispersonal hygiene routine. This routine would also include drinking goats’ milk, which was said to make your breath sweet. However, we don’t see the first record of toothpaste until 1780: it consisted of scrubbing your teeth with a formula which included burnt bread. Some other types of toothpaste back then included dragon’s blood, cinnamon, and burnt alum, all mixed and used every other day. In the 19th century, many people used charcoal to clean their teeth, and toothpaste was more like a “tooth-powder”. However, strawberries were used to help prevent tarter, and still to this day, strawberries are popular for the care of the teeth. So that leaves us to today, where we can find dozens of toothpaste brands to help us keep our teeth clean, white, and healthy. Thank goodness we have moved away from some of the old ways, and moved to our current ways.