The people I babysat for in the late 1950's used a tooth powder but I don't remember our family using it.

As a child, I can remember using tooth powder, but for years, we.ve used Crest tooth paste. It whitens/brightens/cleans our teeth very well, but I find it ironic that you're not supposed to swallow it!

My father used a tooth powder, my mother toothpaste and also my brother and I. I did not like that gritty feeling, don't know it might have been just my imagination.

We used tooth powder in the 1940ties, during and some years after the war in Norway.
We bought the powder in an "ApoteK", Drug store,
Somewhere around 1948 we were able to buy some toothpaste.
It was a white gritty mess in a tube, and is was difficult to rinse it out of your mouth.
Fast forward. when I came to the US in 1956 and discovered all the toothpaste available here, I fell in love with the smooth peppermint jell toothpaste.
Not to change the subject, but we also had "head ache powder", No pills, jell caps or tablets, just some terrible tasting powder.
We've come a long way from those days,

I remember Ipana and the jingle that went with it,,,

"Brusha, brusha, brusha! Get the new Ipana! With the brand new flavour - it's dandy for your teeth! Brusha... Brusha... Brusha. New Ipana toothpaste. Brusha... Brusha... Brusha - knock out, decay germs fast! Fast! Fast - you're sure alright!"

A lot of tooth pastes have come and gone most with some jingle or taste or other gimmick to enhance the use and get to the top of the heap,

Never heard of powder, but it probably either A) get your teeth cleaner than paste/gel, or B) eats the enamel off. So maybe they're trying to make a buck or worried it isn't as effective. Gone by the wayside, most likley. What I will tell you, the "whitening" toothpastes feel a lot like west describes, so I would wager that powders get your teeth cleaner than paste/gel. Probably gritty due to baking soda.

The Southern states (US) still use headache powders! I had never heard of them until I moved here and it is "not Southern" to take a pill/tablet. I don't get it, but that's the mindset. If you're ailing, you just say, "Do you have a Goody's" and the powder part is implied.

Had to go look it up. Guess what? I'm right!!!!
"Where is GoodyâÂÂsî Headache Powder sold?
GoodyâÂÂs is sold in food, drug, mass merchandise and convenience stores, primarily in the southern U.S."

Here is a link that might be useful: Goody's product listing

I used baking soda as a child. I still do every now and then.
I like the way it makes my teeth feel clean and fresh.