The history and global market of oral home-care products

Abstract

This literature review reports the history and the current market of oral home-care products. It provides information extending from the products used by our ancestors to those currently available, as well as on the changes in the supply and consumption of these products. Although the scientific knowledge about oral diseases has improved greatly in recent years, our ancestors had already been concerned with cleaning their teeth. A variety of rudimentary products and devices were used since before recorded history, like chewing sticks, tree twigs, bird feathers, animal bones, tooth powder and home-made mouth rinses. Today, due to technological improvements of the cosmetic industry and market competition, home-use oral care products available in the marketplace offer a great variety of options. An increase in the consumption of oral care products has been observed in the last decades. Estimates show that Latin America observed a 12% increase in hygiene and beauty products sales between 2002 and 2003, whereas the observed global rate was approximately 2%. A significant increase in the per capita consumption of toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthrinse and dental floss has been estimated from 1992 to 2002, respectively at rates of 38.3%, 138.3%, 618.8% and 177.2%. Pertaining to this increased supply and consumption of oral care products, some related questions remain unanswered, like the occurrence of changes in disease behavior due to the use of new compounds, their actual efficacy and correct indications, and the extent of the benefits to oral health derived from consuming more products.

Screening of Selected Plant-Derived Extracts for Their Antimicrobial Activity against Oral Pathogens

“…Unfortunately, most people fail to maintain a sufficient level of oral control through mechanical removal only, which has called for the use of oral products containing antimicrobial ingredients as a complementary measure to diminish biofilm formation on the tooth surface [6]. Therefore, the use of chemicals as a complementary measure to diminish the tooth surface biofilm is necessary and has proven to be a valuable tool to diminish the tooth surface biofilm [7,8].…”

The Evolution of A Tooth Brush: From Antiquity to Present- A Mini-Review

“…Moreover, the use miswak for oral hygiene is referenced in Muslim hygienic jurisprudence [9] (Figure 1&2). Bristled toothbrushes did not find their place in Europe until the 1600's [10]. The 17th and 18th centuries had dentists in France promoting the use of toothbrushes and slightly later in England.…”

“…William Addis [12] is credited with designing the first massproduced toothbrush in England, which entered the market in 1780. On the other side of the Atlantic, the first American to patent a toothbrush was Wadsworth HN [10,12]. By 1885, American companies began the mass-production of toothbrushes although a large scale consumer market had not yet been established [10].…”

“…On the other side of the Atlantic, the first American to patent a toothbrush was Wadsworth HN [10,12]. By 1885, American companies began the mass-production of toothbrushes although a large scale consumer market had not yet been established [10]. The Prophylactic toothbrush made by the Florence Manufacturing Company is one example of an early American-made toothbrush and was the first to sell individually packaged toothbrushes (Figure 3).…”

The domestication of an everyday health technology: A case study of electric toothbrushes

“…One of these products is the electric toothbrush, commonly available to the consumer in chemists, electrical goods outlets and supermarkets. The electric toothbrush has been available since the early 1960s but remained a somewhat specialist product until the end of the last century since when, just as with other oral health care products, the diversity of products available has proliferated (Jardim et al , 2009; Wong, 2012). …”