Teeth-cleaning twig
A teeth-cleaning twig is an oral hygiene tool made from a twig from a tree. It can help to prevent tooth decay and gum disease.
Denominations
Tooth sticks often take the same name as the trees or plants from which they come.History
The oral hygiene practice using herbal sticks exists in many parts of the world since ancient time: ancient India, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, ancient Israel, Eastern Asia, etc.Chew sticks are twigs or roots of certain plants that are chewed until one end is frayed. This end can be used to brush against the teeth, while the other end can be used as a toothpick. The earliest chew sticks have been dated to Babylonia in 3500 BCE and an Egyptian tomb from 3000 BCE; they are mentioned in Chinese records dating from 1600 BCE In the Ayurvedas around 4th century BCE and in Tipitaka, in the Buddhist Canon around the 5th century BCE in India.
The Indian way of using tooth wood for brushing is presented by the Chinese monk Yijing when he describes the rules for monks in his book:
A wide variety of plants can be used as.
In Africa, many kinds of sticks exist and many plants and trees are used to produce them by various peoples, ethnicities and tribes.
African chew sticks are often made from the tree Salvadora persica, also known as the "toothbrush tree".
In Islam, this tree is traditionally used to create a chew stick called miswak, as frequently advocated for in the hadith.
In South India, neem is used as a teeth cleaning twig. Neem, in full bloom, can aid in healing by keeping the area clean and disinfected. There is an old Tamil proverb praising the twig, comparing it with the moral works of Naladiyar and the Kural, which says that both of the works are very good in expressing human thoughts just as the twigs of the banyan and the neem trees are good in maintaining the teeth.
Traditional Sikhs still use datun today as it is written in their scriptures:
Twigs used
Teeth-cleaning twigs can be obtained from a variety of tree species. Although many trees are used in the production of teeth-cleaning twigs, some trees are better suited to clean and protect the teeth, due to the chemical composition of the plant parts. The tree species are:- Salvadora persica
- Sassafras
- Gumtree
- Lime tree
- Garcinia mannii in West Africa
- Orange tree
- African laburnum
- Tea tree
- Neem in the Indian subcontinent
- Vachellia nilotica, also called babool or kikar in the Indian subcontinent
- Dalbergia sissoo, also called sheesham in the Indian subcontinent
- Liquorice
- Gouania lupuloides
- Cinnamon
- Dogwood
- Olive
- Walnut
- Acacia catechu
- Acacia nilotica
- and other trees with bitter roots.
- Apple tree
- Pear tree
- Bamboo
- Fig tree
- Common hazel
- Willow
- Orange tree
- Lime tree
- Silver birch
- Olive
- Walnut tree
- Liquorice root
- Nyssa sylvatica
India
- Apamarga
- Arjun
- Bael
- Bargad
- Ber
- Dhak
- Gular
- Jamun
- Kamer
- Karanj
- Madar ak
- Mango
- Mulhatti
- Neem
- Peepal
- Safed babul or Acacia
- Tejovati
- Vijayasar
Carrying
Attributes
When compared to toothbrushes, teeth-cleaning twigs have several differentiations such as:- More ecological in its life-cycle.
- Dependence from external supplier, if lack of access to the respective trees.
- Some twigs need moistening with water if they become dry, to ensure the end is soft. The end may be cut afresh to ensure hygiene, and should not be stored near a sink. The twig is replaced every few weeks to maintain proper hygiene.
- Lower cost.
- Not standardized hardness. Careful selection of the right hardness is required before use.
- Use without toothpaste. Thus indefinite fluoride consumption.
- Cleaning teeth all day long, instead of twice a day for a few minutes.