The world’s earliest toothpaste was created by the Egyptians near 5000 BCE from the powdered ashes of ox hooves, pumice(a type of volcanic rock), eggshells, and myrrh.
Imagine putting ground ox hooves into your mouth… but maybe it was fired and thus wasn’t the original material anymore?
In which form? Like a paste mixed with water? Myrrh is for the greatest part soluble in water. This myrrh was for the smell and against infections. Whete did you find the recipe?
The recipe comes from the Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 BCE) - that’s where you’ll find powdered ox hooves, ashes, burnt eggshells, and pumice. This was not the only recipe though. Another was a paste made from water, dried flowers, pepper, mint, and rock salt. You put the dry ingredients in a bowl and add little bits of water and stir until you have a paste. You would then use a small branch with frayed ends as a toothbrush - known as a “chewing stick” - that you’d dip into the paste. Chewing sticks from aromatic plants and trees were preferred because they made one’s breath sweeter-smelling.
Yeah I’m definitely much more comfortable with the second recipe. ![]()
Funnily enough, I just put together a post about toothpaste/teeth whitening methods throughout history for one of our dental clients:
Ancient Egyptians: Oxen hooves, pumice stone and white vinegar.
Ancient Romans: Human urine and goat milk.
Middle Ages/Renaissance: Nitric acid, alum, sulphur, lemon juice, and vinegar (most of these just ended up ruining the tooth enamel).
Oh the ingredients list keeps getting better as we go through the ages, doesn’t it? Human urine? Nitric alic & sulphur? Sounds great to put in your mouth, yes, yes, definitely… ![]()
Another reason to be grateful that we live in modern times! ![]()
That is disgusting. Ewwww!
Oh, how I pine for the good ol’ days ![]()