The development of the toothpaste can be traced in the ancient countries China and India before more than 500 BC. In 1873 Colgate presents a form of a toothpaste close to the present ones flavoured paste in a glass jar. In 1896 the first toothpaste in plastic tube called Colgate Dental Cream was launched on the market. After the World War II the development of the synthetic detergents (soaps) was applied in the production of the toothpaste.
Nowadays, you can find difficulties in choosing a toothpaste because of the large supply on the market. When you buy toothpaste and it contains fluoride it doesn’t matter what brand it will be. All toothpastes with fluoride work effectively against plaque and caries. They also clean and polish tooth enamel.
Types of toothpaste
If you have sensitive teeth use desensitizing toothpaste. Their main ingredient is strontium chloride or potassium nitrate. They protect the tooth canals which are related to the nerve.
Dental Flossing
The history of the floss dates from many years. Prehistoric people and American Indians have used sticks and floss.
Nowadays, the concept of dental floss was put forward in the early 1815 by Levi Spear Parmly, dentist from New Orleans who recommends his patients to clean their teeth with silk thread. That “discovery” was of no commercial importance until a company from Massachusetts began producing silk thread for general use. The first patent for dental floss belongs to the company Johnson & Johnson from New Jersey.
Until World War II the Floss technique is not popular. At that time, Dr. Bass finds nylon thread that substitutes the silk one. They are more suitable because they are of better quality, consist of soft cylindrical fibres that can be produced in various sizes and they are more resistant to abrasion.
After the war Dr. Bass emphasizes the importance of using floss, toothbrush and toothpaste. Currently the use of Floss technique is the only way to remove plaque from inter-dental spaces hard to reach.
