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Miswak
The miswak is a teeth-cleaning twig made from the Salvadora persica tree. The miswak's properties have been described as follows: "Apart from their antibacterial activity which may help control the formation and activity of dental plaque, they can be used effectively as a natural toothbrush for teeth cleaning. Such sticks are effective, inexpensive, common, available, and contain many medical properties".
The miswak or siwak is predominantly used in Muslim-inhabited areas.[citation needed] It is commonly used in the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa, North Africa, parts of the Sahel, the Indian subcontinent, and Central Asia.
The oral hygiene practice using herbal sticks exists in many parts of the world since ancient time: ancient India, ancient Greece (mentioned by Alciphron, ancient Rome, ancient Israel (mentioned in Talmud), Eastern Asia (mentioned in the Gospel of Buddhism), etc.
The sticks made of Salvadora persica tree are called miswak, siwak or arak in Arabic, koyoji in Japanese, qesam or qesem in Hebrew, qisa in Aramaic, mastic in Latin, sotio or sothiou in Wolof of Senegal, siwahewal (plural siwakejé) in Northern Nigeria Fulani.
The term miswak should not be confused with the same term used in Maghreb which in Maghrebi Arabic also refers to a completely different instrument made from walnut wood (Juglans regia L., common walnut), both a toothbrush and a toothpick, also used to clean teeth and gums in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya.
As far back as antiquity, people began to practice oral hygiene by using fibrous chewable sticks, such as siwak, as toothbrushes. The stick contains cleaners, disinfectants and even fluorides. It is recommended in the collection of medical knowledge of the Ancient Indian surgeon (ca. 500 BC) Sushruta, known as a pioneer of anesthesia, which he practiced in particular with Indian hemp. Siwak is also mentioned in the ancient Indian book of the Laws of Manu (Sanskrit: मनुस्मृति, manusmṛti) around the Christian era.[citation needed] In the Islamic world, Muhammad is said to have used it regularly, according to later Hadîth literature.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the use of the miswak in 1986, but in 2000, an international consensus report on oral hygiene concluded that further research was needed to document the effect of the miswak. Some of this further research has been done on a population of 203, and concluded, "that the periodontal status of miswak users in this Sudanese population is better than that of toothbrush users". Yet another comparative study conducted on a sampling of 480 Saudi Arabian adults found that "the level of need for periodontal care in the sample chosen is low when compared with the findings of similar studies undertaken in other countries. The frequent use of the 'Miswak' was associated with a lower need for treatment".
Studies indicate that Salvadora persica extract exhibits low antimicrobial activity compared to other oral disinfectants and anti-plaque agents like triclosan and chlorhexidine gluconate.
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Miswak
The miswak is a teeth-cleaning twig made from the Salvadora persica tree. The miswak's properties have been described as follows: "Apart from their antibacterial activity which may help control the formation and activity of dental plaque, they can be used effectively as a natural toothbrush for teeth cleaning. Such sticks are effective, inexpensive, common, available, and contain many medical properties".
The miswak or siwak is predominantly used in Muslim-inhabited areas.[citation needed] It is commonly used in the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa, North Africa, parts of the Sahel, the Indian subcontinent, and Central Asia.
The oral hygiene practice using herbal sticks exists in many parts of the world since ancient time: ancient India, ancient Greece (mentioned by Alciphron, ancient Rome, ancient Israel (mentioned in Talmud), Eastern Asia (mentioned in the Gospel of Buddhism), etc.
The sticks made of Salvadora persica tree are called miswak, siwak or arak in Arabic, koyoji in Japanese, qesam or qesem in Hebrew, qisa in Aramaic, mastic in Latin, sotio or sothiou in Wolof of Senegal, siwahewal (plural siwakejé) in Northern Nigeria Fulani.
The term miswak should not be confused with the same term used in Maghreb which in Maghrebi Arabic also refers to a completely different instrument made from walnut wood (Juglans regia L., common walnut), both a toothbrush and a toothpick, also used to clean teeth and gums in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya.
As far back as antiquity, people began to practice oral hygiene by using fibrous chewable sticks, such as siwak, as toothbrushes. The stick contains cleaners, disinfectants and even fluorides. It is recommended in the collection of medical knowledge of the Ancient Indian surgeon (ca. 500 BC) Sushruta, known as a pioneer of anesthesia, which he practiced in particular with Indian hemp. Siwak is also mentioned in the ancient Indian book of the Laws of Manu (Sanskrit: मनुस्मृति, manusmṛti) around the Christian era.[citation needed] In the Islamic world, Muhammad is said to have used it regularly, according to later Hadîth literature.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the use of the miswak in 1986, but in 2000, an international consensus report on oral hygiene concluded that further research was needed to document the effect of the miswak. Some of this further research has been done on a population of 203, and concluded, "that the periodontal status of miswak users in this Sudanese population is better than that of toothbrush users". Yet another comparative study conducted on a sampling of 480 Saudi Arabian adults found that "the level of need for periodontal care in the sample chosen is low when compared with the findings of similar studies undertaken in other countries. The frequent use of the 'Miswak' was associated with a lower need for treatment".
Studies indicate that Salvadora persica extract exhibits low antimicrobial activity compared to other oral disinfectants and anti-plaque agents like triclosan and chlorhexidine gluconate.