Toothpaste use can be traced to 2000 BC when the Egyptians made a paste from powdered pumice stone and wine vinegar. The Romans’ used human urine because doctors believed it whitened teeth and kept them firmly in place. In 500 BC China and India used toothpaste as well.
While the ingredients changed over time, urine remained an active ingredient in toothpaste and mouthwash into the 18th century, because its effective ammonia content. Urine eventually removed from toothpaste as modern toothpastes were developed in the 1800’s. In 1824, a dentist known as Peabody first added soap to it and then in 1850’s chalk was added. Toothpaste was first mass-produced in 1873 by Colgate, when they offered a nice smelling paste in a jar.
In 1892, Dr. Washington Sheffield first put toothpaste in a collapsible tube, which he called Dr. Sheffield's Creme Dentifrice. After World War II, synthetic detergents replaced soap and emulsifying agents like Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and Sodium Ricinoleate were also added. Once the benefits of fluoride were discovered, it too was added to toothpaste.