The first thing almost everybody uses after waking up in the morning is the tooth paste. In earlier days people used charcoal powder, salt, mango or neem stem and later tooth powders, but now tooth paste has become the household item even in villages. Tooth paste is a paste or gel dentifrice used with a toothbrush as an accessory to promote dental hygiene and maintain the aesthetics and health of teeth. It serves as an abrasive that helps in removing the dental plaque and residual food from the teeth, assists in suppressing halitosis, and delivers active ingredients (most commonly fluoride) to help prevent tooth decay (dental caries) and gum disease (gingivitis). Toothpaste is not intended to be swallowed due to the fluoride content, but is generally not very harmful if accidentally swallowed in small amounts; however, one should seek medical attention after swallowing abnormally large amounts.
Early toothpastes
In the 9th century, the....
