Ancient toothpaste recipes sound like a witch’s brew: ox-hoof powder, burnt eggshells, crushed bones.

People centuries ago used whatever abrasive items they could find to clean their teeth as far back as 5000 B.C., according to Dr. Scott Swank, a dentist and curator of the National Museum of Dentistry, and websites such as colgate.com.

“The earliest recipes go back to Greek and Roman times,” he said.

“Egyptians are believed to have started using toothpaste … before toothbrushes were invented,” according to colgate.com. The 1800s saw the advent of toothpaste as we know it today, with Colgate mass-producing it in jars in 1873, according to about.com. In 1892, Dr. Washington Sheffield of Connecticut put the first toothpaste in a tube, Swank said, after paint was first put in tubes in Europe.

Modern choices
Today, modern consumers are overwhelmed with toothpaste choices and prices. Products offer to make teeth whiter, prevent tooth decay, stop bacteria from growing and protect sensitive teeth. And pastes come in a multitude of flavors from mint to bubblegum to strawberry. Pastes are offered with baking soda, foaming agents or all-natural products — such as in Tom’s of Maine, which was founded 43 years ago to offer natural products with no artificial ingredients, said Susan Dewhirst, a spokeswoman for Tom’s.

“It’s a bit more expensive, but we work to source the best natural products,” she said.

And prices vary wildly. Shoppers can expect to spend from $2 up to almost $10 for a tube of paste.

What’s a consumer to do?
So how does a buyer find the right toothpaste for their tastes? What price do you pay to keep those pearly whites?

Stroudsburg dentist Dr. Bruce D. Reish said that people should first choose a brand they like, make sure it is approved by the Chicago-based American Dental Association, find a paste that is not too abrasive, has fluoride and tastes good so you keep using it, he said.

But most important: Use a good technique. Use a soft toothbrush.

“A good technique to brushing is over whatever brand of toothpaste (you’re using),” he said. And that means starting with bristles on the gum, brushing down and away from your upper gum line, not in an up-and-down motion.

Others agree. Richard Price, a dentist and a spokesman for the ADA, said that technique is more important than what you put on your toothbrush.

“The whole function of brushing is to get the plaque off of your teeth. Paste is just an adjunct to the brush,” he said. “It helps the brush do its job.”

Price suggested buying whatever paste is on sale and what you like. And he agreed that the product should have the ADA seal of approval because the organization recommends toothpastes that have been tested for issues such as whether or not it’s too abrasive and if there is enough fluoride in it to help prevent cavities. He also stressed that youngsters age 5 and under who are not able to spit out toothpaste should be supervised.

“Treat toothpaste like a medicine,” he said. “It has fluoride in it. It does something.”

What to buy
Buying a product depends on what you’re looking to accomplish. If you want to get stains off your teeth, look for a paste that has carbamide peroxide, Reish said.

“Toothpastes really don’t whiten. They remove surface stains,” he said, which is what peroxide does. Whitening your teeth can only be done professionally, he said.

If you want to prevent cavities, make sure the toothpaste has fluoride, he said.

And for sensitive teeth, use a paste with potassium nitrate, a salt.

Baking soda is also fine to use as a toothpaste, he said.

Procter & Gamble, one of the largest companies that makes toothpastes, offers three brands — Crest, Gleem and Oral B, said spokesman Jeff LeRoy. The company, which was started in 1837 in Cincinnati, Ohio, by two immigrant brothers who married sisters, first made candles and soap. Now the firm owns a “family” of brands, he said.

The company first started making toothpaste called “Teel,” he said, but it stripped enamel off teeth and consumers’ teeth turned darker, not whiter, LeRoy said.

So Procter & Gamble formed a partnership with the University of Indiana and developed Crest, which was introduced in 1955.

“It took off,” LeRoy said.

Today, Crest brings in more than $1 billion a year.

The company does not set prices. It sells product to retailers, who then decide at what price to sell the toothpaste, he said.