A teeth-cleaning twig (in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

: ''datwoon'') is an

oral hygiene Oral hygiene is the practice of keeping one's oral cavity clean and free of disease and other problems (e.g. bad breath) by regular brushing of the teeth (dental hygiene) and adopting good hygiene habits. It is important that oral hygiene be carr ...

tool made from a twig from a tree. It can help to prevent

tooth decay Tooth decay, also known as caries,The word 'caries' is a mass noun, and is not a plural of 'carie'.'' is the breakdown of teeth due to acids produced by bacteria. The resulting cavities may be a number of different colors, from yellow to black ...

and

gum disease Periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, is a set of inflammatory conditions affecting the tissues surrounding the teeth. In its early stage, called gingivitis, the gums become swollen and red and may bleed. It is considered the main c ...

History

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 A toothpick is a small thin stick of wood, plastic, bamboo, metal, bone or other substance with at least one and sometimes two pointed ends to insert between teeth to remove detritus, usually after a meal. Toothpicks are also used for festive ...

. 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

Ayurveda Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...

s around 4th century BCE and in

Tipitaka There are several Buddhist canons, which refers to the various scriptural collections of Buddhist texts, Buddhist sacred scriptures or the various Buddhist Scriptural canon, scriptural canons.

, in the

Buddhist Canon There are several Buddhist canons, which refers to the various scriptural collections of Buddhist sacred scriptures or the various Buddhist scriptural canons.

around the 5th century BCE in India. The Indian way of using tooth wood for brushing is presented by the Chinese monk

Yijing The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...

(635–713 CE) when he describes the rules for monks in his book: A wide variety of plants can be used as . In Africa, chew sticks are made from the tree ''

Salvadora persica Salvadora may refer to: * Salvadora Medina Onrubia (1894-1972), Argentine poet, anarchist, feminist * ''Salvadora'' (snake), a genus of patchnose snakes in the family Colubridae * ''Salvadora'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants in the fami ...

'', also known as the "toothbrush tree". In Islam, this tree is traditionally used to create a chew stick called

miswak The miswak is a teeth-cleaning twig made from the '' Salvadora persica'' tree. The miswak's properties have been described thus: "Apart from their antibacterial activity which may help control the formation and activity of dental plaque, they c ...

, as frequently advocated for in the ''

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

'' (written traditions relating to the life of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

). In South India,

neem ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, margosa, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of the two species in the genus '' Azadirachta''. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and to parts of S ...

is used as a teeth cleaning twig. Neem, in full bloom, can aid in healing by keeping the area clean and disinfected. Traditional

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

s 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: * ''

'' *

Sassafras ''Sassafras'' is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.Wolfe, Jack A. & Wehr, Wesley C. 1987. The sassafras is an ornamental tree. "Middle Eo ...

Gumtree Gumtree.com, known as Gumtree, is a British-based online classified advertisement and community website based at Hotham House, in Richmond, London. Classified ads are either free or paid for depending on the product category and the geograph ...

Lime tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Britain and Irelan ...

(''Citrusaurantafolia'') * ''

Garcinia mannii ''Garcinia mannii'' is a dioecious and evergreen flowering tree in the family Clusiaceae (Guttiferae). The specific epithet (''mannii'') honors German botanist Gustav Mann. Distribution ''Garcinia mannii'' is native to southern Guinea and Liber ...

'' in West AfricaCheek (2004) *

Orange tree Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

(''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'') * African laburnum (''

Cassia sieberiana ''Cassia sieberiana'', the drumstick tree, is a tree in the family Fabaceae native to Africa. It ranges from 10 to 20 metres in height and has very bright yellow flowers. It is used for multiple medical purposes in Africa and is found in the seco ...

'') * Tea tree *

Neem ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, margosa, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of the two species in the genus '' Azadirachta''. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and to parts of S ...

in the Indian subcontinent * ''

Vachellia nilotica ''Vachellia nilotica'', more commonly known as ''Acacia nilotica'', and by the vernacular names of gum arabic tree, babul, thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia or thorny acacia, is a flowering plant, flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native t ...

'', also called ''babool'' or ''kikar'' in the Indian subcontinent * ''

Dalbergia sissoo ''Dalbergia sissoo'', known commonly as North Indian rosewood or shisham, is a fast-growing, hardy, deciduous rosewood tree native to the Indian subcontinent and southern Iran. ''D. sissoo'' is a large, crooked tree with long, leathery leaves a ...

'', also called ''sheesham'' in the Indian subcontinent *

Liquorice Liquorice ( Commonwealth English) or licorice (American English; see spelling differences; ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring is ...

* '' Gouania lupuloides'' *

Cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

Dogwood ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods or cornels, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous ...

Olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

Walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

* ''

Acacia catechu ''Senegalia catechu'', previously known as ''Acacia catechu'', is a deciduous, thorny tree which grows up to in height. The plant is called ''kachu'' in Malay; the Malay name was Latinized to "catechu" in Linnaean taxonomy, as the species from ...

'' * ''

Acacia nilotica ''Vachellia nilotica'', more commonly known as ''Acacia nilotica'', and by the vernacular names of gum arabic tree, babul, thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia or thorny acacia, is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa, the M ...

'' * and other trees with bitter roots. Europe and North America *

Apple tree An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are cultivated worldwide. The tree originated in Central A ...

Pear tree Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the pomaceous fruit of the sa ...

Bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

Fig tree ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family (biology), family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few spe ...

Common hazel ''Corylus avellana'', the common hazel, is a species of flowering plant in the birch family Betulaceae. The shrubs usually grow tall. The nut is round, in contrast to the longer filbert nut. Common hazel is native to Europe and Western Asia. Th ...

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

Silver birch ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found ...

Walnut tree Walnut trees are any species of tree in the plant genus ''Juglans'', the type genus of the family (biology), family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are referred to as walnuts. All species are deciduous trees, tall, with pinnate leaves , with ...

Liquorice root Liquorice (Commonwealth English) or licorice (American English; see spelling differences; ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring is ...

Nyssa sylvatica ''Nyssa sylvatica'', commonly known as tupelo, black tupelo, black gum or sour gum, is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to eastern North America from the coastal Northeastern United States and southern Ontario south to central Florida and ea ...

Australia *

Mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

Mangosteen Mangosteen (''Garcinia mangostana''), also known as the purple mangosteen, is a tropical evergreen tree with edible fruit native to Island Southeast Asia, from the Malay Peninsula to Borneo. It has been cultivated extensively in tropical Asia ...

India * Apamarga * Arjun * Bael * Bargad * Ber * Dhak * Gular * Jamun * Kamer * Karanj * Madar ak * Mango * Mulhatti * Neem * Peepal * Safed babul or Acacia * Tejovati * Vijayasar

Carrying

Many companies produce special cases for carrying, storing and protecting chew sticks, known popularly as "miswak holders".

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 (0–16% of the cost of a toothbrush). * 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teeth-Cleaning Twig Dental equipment Oral hygiene Cleaning and the environment Ancient inventions

History

Twigs used

Carrying

Attributes

See also

References