Ancient Toothpaste

Taken from Creation Vol 26 No 3 2004 by David Catchpoole

An Egyptian toothpaste formula from the 4th century AD has been found in a collection of papyrus documents at the National Library in Vienna, Austria. In black ink made of soot and gum arabic mixed with water, an ancient Egyptian scribe has carefully written down a recipe 'for white and perfect teeth'. This makes it the world's oldest-known recipe of toothpaste. The formula, presented at a recent international dental congress, included mint, salt, grains, of pepper and -perhaps the most active component- dried iris flower. News of the ancient formula is said to have 'caused a sensation' among the dentists at the congress as only recent discoveries have been made. Finding beneficial properties of iris are effective agent against gum disease and not unpleasant to use.

Dr hermann Harrauer, who heads the papyrus collection at Austria's National Library and who discovered the long-lost recipe, explained '......The Egyptian scribe was maybe a monk. By the 4th century AD, Egypt had been Christianised and Christian monks were also physicians and this would fit in with what we know.'

For those who are used to thinking in evolutionary terms, i.e. who regard early man as 'primitive', such discoveries of the advanced level of technology in earlier cultures can often be a real eye-opener. Nobody in the dental profession had any idea that such an advanced toothpaste formula of this antiquity existed.

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