Know What’s in Your Toothpaste

Do you know what’s in your toothpaste? Next time you are set to buy a new tube, read the list of ingredients first. Toothpaste can contain some astonishing ingredients.

History of brushing our teeth

Archeological digs have discovered that the ancient Egyptians cleaned their teeth with a combination of burnt eggshells, ox-hoof ashes, and sand dating to about 5,000 bce. Later on, the Romans used a mixture of oyster shells, crushed ox bones, crushed tree bark, and powdered charcoal to clean their teeth. In 18th century England, people used brick dust and crushed china in their teeth cleaning powders.

Today’s ingredients in toothpaste

Abrasives:

Abrasives are particles that make the action of tooth-brushing more effective. Your toothpaste may contain Silica (made from sand), Alumina (natural or synthetic), Calcium Carbonate (from limestone or shellfish), or Dicalcium Phosphate (synthetic).

These compounds depend on the mechanical action of the toothbrush to provide the cleaning effect on the teeth.