At least 5,000 years ago, people began searching for minty-fresh breath.
Around 3000 BCE, the Ancient Egyptians believed that having healthy teeth was a sign of beauty. They created what was perhaps the first toothpaste in history by combining water, pumice, and ground-up ox hooves. (Dentists continue to polish tooth enamel using a type of pumice.)

Other cultures developed their own techniques throughout antiquity. Many Indians still utilise dantakastha, or teeth-cleaning twigs, from the babul, mango, or neem trees. Fish bones were the main ingredient in the powder that the Chinese utilised. Oyster shell and crushed bones were combined by the ancient Greeks and Romans.

One of the few items regarded as a need in pre-industrialized Europe was homemade toothpaste from the local pharmacy. Notably, dentistry was nonexistent (except from the gouging and tugging extractions carried out by local medicine men) and an anaesthetic was not yet available.
Nevertheless, the majority of Europeans only brushed occasionally, either before holidays or social gatherings, or when pain signalled an issue. The habit had not yet developed, and the science was unknown. Importantly, however, items like toothpaste and soaps were costly and considered luxury.

Finally, industrialisation reduced the cost of items like chemicals and brushes.
When American dentist Dr. Washington Sheffield redesigned the package in 1892, a significant shift occurred.He was inspired by the way paint was packed and marketed to create the toothpaste tube.

Until then, family members all dipped their toothbrushes into the same common jar, which is as unbelievable as it seems today.

Colgate, which began as a soap and candle company in 1806 and had been selling toothpaste in jars since 1873, had switched to tubes by 1896. The race to discover the optimal formula then started.