Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice used with a toothbrush to clean and maintain the aesthetics and health of teeth. Toothpaste is used to promote oral hygiene: it is an abrasive that aids in removing dental plaque and food from the teeth, assists in suppressing halitosis, and delivers active ingredients to help prevent tooth decay and gum disease (gingivitis). Owing to differences in composition and fluoride content, not all toothpastes are equally effective in maintaining oral health. The decline of tooth decay during the 20th century has been attributed to the introduction and regular use of fluoride-containing toothpastes worldwide. Large amounts of swallowed toothpaste can be poisonous. Common colors for toothpaste include white and blue.
Arm & Hammer is a brand of baking soda-based consumer products marketed by Church & Dwight, a major American manufacturer of household products. The logo of the brand depicts the ancient symbol of a muscular arm holding a hammer inside a red circle with the brand name and slogan. Originally associated solely with baking soda and washing soda, the company began to expand the brand to other products in the 1970s by using baking soda as a deodorizing ingredient. The new products included toothpaste, laundry detergent, underarm deodorant, and cat litter.
Church & Dwight Co., Inc. is an American consumer goods company focusing on personal care, household products, and specialty products. The company was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey. It is the parent company of well-known brands such as Arm & Hammer, Trojan, OxiClean, and First Response. In 2022, Church & Dwight reported annual revenue of $5.4 billion. The company's products and services include a wide range of consumer goods, including laundry detergent, air fresheners, baking soda, condoms, pregnancy tests, and oral hygiene products.
Pepsodent is an American brand of toothpaste with the minty flavor that is derived from sassafras. The brand was purchased by Unilever in 1942 and is still owned by the company outside of the United States and Canada. In 2003, Unilever sold the rights to the brand in the North American market to Church & Dwight.
Tooth whitening or tooth bleaching is the process of lightening the colour of human teeth. Whitening is often desirable when teeth become yellowed over time for a number of reasons, and can be achieved by changing the intrinsic or extrinsic colour of the tooth enamel. The chemical degradation of the chromogens within or on the tooth is termed as bleaching.
Persil is a German brand of laundry detergent manufactured and marketed by Henkel around the world except in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Latin America, China, Australia and New Zealand, where it is manufactured and marketed by Unilever. Persil was introduced in 1907 by Henkel. It was the first commercially available laundry detergent that combined bleach with the detergent. The name was derived from two of its original ingredients, sodium perborate and sodium silicate.
OxiClean is an American brand of household cleaners, including OxiClean Versatile Stain Remover, which is a laundry additive, spot stain remover, and household cleaner marketed by Church & Dwight. It was formerly owned by Orange Glo International from its introduction in 1997 until it was acquired in 2006.
Dentifrices, including toothpowder and toothpaste, are agents used along with a toothbrush to aid in removal of dental plaque. They are supplied in paste, powder or gel. Many dentifrices have been produced over the years, some focusing on marketing strategies to sell products, such as offering whitening capabilities. The most essential dentifrice recommended by dentists is toothpaste which is used in conjunction with a toothbrush to help remove food debris and dental plaque. Dentifrice is also the French word for toothpaste.
Gleem is an American brand of oral hygiene products, including toothpastes and electric toothbrushes, owned by Procter & Gamble. It was introduced as a toothpaste in the United States in 1952 and discontinued in 2014. Procter & Gamble later revived Gleem toothpaste as a flavor variant of Crest toothpaste. In 2019, Procter & Gamble expanded the brand to include a line of electric toothbrushes.
Ipana was a toothpaste manufactured by Bristol-Myers Company. The wintergreen-flavored toothpaste, with active ingredient 0.243% sodium fluoride, reached its peak market penetration during the 1950s in North America. Marketing of Ipana used a Disney-created mascot named Bucky Beaver in the 1950s.
Ultra Brite is an American brand of toothpaste and tooth-whitener marketed by Colgate-Palmolive in the United States. Marketed as a whitening toothpaste, its active ingredients are baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and sodium monofluorophosphate.
Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate (INCI), also known as sarcosyl, is an anionic surfactant derived from sarcosine used as a foaming and cleansing agent in shampoo, shaving foam, toothpaste, and foam wash products.
Gingivitis is a non-destructive disease that causes inflammation of the gums; ulitis is an alternative term. The most common form of gingivitis, and the most common form of periodontal disease overall, is in response to bacterial biofilms that are attached to tooth surfaces, termed plaque-induced gingivitis. Most forms of gingivitis are plaque-induced.
Zendium is a brand of toothpaste marketed by Unilever in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Middle East, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Slovakia and Switzerland.
A denture cleaner is used to clean dentures when they are out of the mouth. The main use is to control the growth of microorganisms on the dentures, especially Candida albicans, thereby preventing denture-related stomatitis. When dentures are worn in the mouth, a biofilm develops which may be similar to dental plaque. It may become hardened and mineralized as dental calculus. Denture cleansers are also used to remove stains and other debris that may be caused by diet, tobacco use, drinking coffee, drinking tea, etc.
Close-Up is an American brand of toothpaste launched in 1967 by Unilever as the first gel toothpaste. The brand is marketed worldwide by Unilever and licensed since 2003 to Church & Dwight for the North American market.
Austin Church (January 8, 1799 – August 7, 1879) was an American medical doctor and a pioneer of bicarbonate of soda manufacturing. He was a co-founder of the company that first developed the product in America from chemical compound salts. His company was the first to use the Arm & Hammer trademark to sell the product as a baking soda. He was a businessman involved with merchandising the soda product in a variety of uses from cooking and cleaning ingredients to health product supplements. As a philanthropist Church was involved with charities across the United States.
