History of Toothpaste

Toothpaste -- we use it every single day. In fact, Americans brush their teeth nearly 200 billion times a year and spend more than 1.6 billion dollars on it. But, have you ever wondered exactly how it helps our teeth? And how do we go about choosing which one's right for us?
Toothpaste is not a relatively modern phenomena. In fact, as long ago as 3000-5000 BC Egyptians made a dental cream by mixing powdered ashes of oxen hooves with myrrh, burned egg shells, pumice, and water. Unfortunately, these early Egyptians didn't have toothbrushes but used chew sticks to apply their dental cream.
In 1000 AD Persians added burnt shells of snails and oysters along with gypsum. Unfortunately, at this point, toothpaste was still reserved for the rich. In 18th century England a tooth cleaning "powder" containing borax was sold in ceramic pots. One of the problems, which lasted well into the twentieth century, was that they were often very abrasive, causing damage to teeth.