Brush up on dental history and fill any cavities in your knowledge

Things have moved on since a dentist called Peabody added a little soap to toothpaste in 1824 and created the first modern toothpaste. Before that, teeth were cleaned with bizarre mixtures that, over the years, have included charcoal, salt and pulverised stone.

Egyptians in 2000BC brushed teeth with a mix of salt, pepper, powdered mint and Iris flowers or ground pumice and wine vinegar.

The Roman version was less pleasant and included human urine - a practice that continued until the 18th century.

Peabody's invention, although more palatable, probably did not taste too pleasant and was not improved by John Harris in the 1850s when he added chalk.

The toothpaste tube, as we know it today, came into being in 1892, but it was not until after the second world war that the soap in toothpaste was replaced by newly developed synthetic detergents. Fluoride first appeared as early as 1914, but did not catch on until the 1950s.

The toothbrush and floss are also believed to go back to man's early days. Evidence of floss has been found in the teeth of prehistoric human remains.