The story behind how toothpaste is made

In our daily lives, we come across a lot of products that we tend to use regularly, but what rarely crosses our minds is its story and how something that simple and usual is made. There is a different kind of machinery for manufacturing even the littlest thing and it can be fascinating if we pay attention to it. Just like that, a toothpaste is a product that has a proper manufacturing system. Do you want to know the story of the background and the daily manufacture of a toothpaste?

The idea to first put toothpaste in tubes was brought up by Sheffield Labs, which was founded by the inventor of toothpaste Dr. Washington Wentworth Sheffield. His son Lucius noticed the collapsible metal tubes used for paints and thought it would be a good idea to adopt it for toothpaste among other pharmaceutical uses. The Colgate-Palmolive company claims to be the first one to manufacture these toothpaste tubes. It was only in 1980 that pumps and stand-up tubes came in place of the collapsible ones and that is how we have the toothpaste manufacturing plant today.

Every toothpaste contains the following ingredients:

·      Binders (karaya gum, bentonite) to thicken the paste and avoid separation of the solid and liquid components

·      Abrasives (hydrated silica, calcium carbonate) scrub the upper layer of the teeth to avoid plaque and clear them of dirt

·      Sudsers (sodium lauryl sulfate, dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate) form foam while cleaning which help in removal of particles

·      Humectants (sorbitol, glycerin) retain water in the paste and contribute a certain coolness to it

·      Flavors (mint, cinnamon) so that toothpaste tastes good in the mouth

·      Fluorides (sodium fluoride, sodium perborate) to strengthen teeth and avoid decay

After all the ingredients are mixed together to make the paste, here is how the paste is tubed, packaged and distributed to the masses. Toothpaste manufacturing plant manufacturers have to design the machine keeping in mind the texture, thickness, quality and use of the paste that they are going to package. This is usually how the steps go:

1. The ingredients are mixed only after they’ve been weighed both mechanically and manually. Then glycerin-water is added and the mixture is formed.

2. While the ingredients are being mixed, the mixing vessel is watched closely.

3. Before tubing, the tubes themselves are cleaned and vacuumed to ensure utmost sanitation. Dust and other dry dirt are blown out. The tube is capped at one end and open at the other and these are placed at the mouth of the pump.

4. An optical device rotates the tube which is attached to the pump. After it is filled to the brim, it is sealed and crimped. Then it goes through the regular process, getting stamped and being packaged.

5. They are then put into cardboard boxes, often by hand. They then leave for distribution.

This process is not entirely smooth, like everything else. There are certain issues which might arise with a toothpaste manufacturing machine which can be:

1. Aeration is a major issue as powders and particles tend to have small spaces between them which enable it.

2. Due to lack of mixing powder, there can be small impurities or undissolved substances.

3. Premixing with other powder or liquid ingredients often increases time and effort.

4. Strained or filtered products add to unnecessary maintenance and cost. 

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Created on Feb 27th 2020 06:22. Viewed 253 times.

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