Toothpaste is used today to make brushing more pleasant, to reduce tooth decay, and even to whiten your teeth. Toothpaste history includes a long period of development from ancient times to now.

          Below is a toothpaste history time line.

3000-5000 BC           Egyptians made a toothpaste like dental cream by mixing powdered ashes of oxen hooves with myrrh, burned egg shells, pumice,                                 and water
1000                         Persians created a toothpaste by adding burnt shells of snails and oysters to gypsum
500                           Toothpaste use recorded in India and China
1800 AD                   Modern toothpastes
1824                         Dr. Peabody adds soap to toothpaste
1850                         John Harris adds chalk to toothpaste
1873                         Colgate markets toothpaste in a jar
1892                         Dr. Washington Sheffield puts toothpaste into a collapsible tube
                                (Dr. Sheffield's Creme Dentifrice)
1896                         Colgate Dental Cream packaged in collapsible tubes
1939                         First electric toothbrush
1941                         US Army adds tooth brushing to its hygiene procedures
1956                         Proctor and Gamble adds fluoride to Crest toothpaste
1961                         General Electric introduces a rechargeable cordless toothbrush
1984                         First toothpaste pump dispensers
1987                         The first rotary personal electrical toothbrush for use, the Interplak