Teeth-cleaning twig

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Bunches of teeth cleaning twigs near Kalka, India Bunches of teeth cleaning twigs.jpg
Bunches of teeth cleaning twigs near Kalka, India
Teeth-cleaning twig pijulli daantkaatthi.jpg
Teeth-cleaning twig

A teeth-cleaning twig (in Hindi: datwoon [1] ) is an oral hygiene tool made from a twig from a tree. It can help to prevent tooth decay and gum disease.

Contents

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 (mentioned by Alciphron, ancient Rome, ancient Israel (mentioned in Talmud), Eastern Asia (mentioned in the Gospel of Buddhism) [2] , 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, [3] while the other end can be used as a toothpick. [4] The earliest chew sticks have been dated to Babylonia in 3500 BCE [4] and an Egyptian tomb from 3000 BCE; [3] they are mentioned in Chinese records dating from 1600 BCE [4] In the Ayurvedas around 4th century BCE and in Tipitaka, in the Buddhist Canon around the 5th century BCE in India. [5] [6]

The Indian way of using tooth wood for brushing is presented by the Chinese monk Yijing (635–713 CE) when he describes the rules for monks in his book: [7]

Every day in the morning, a monk must chew a piece of tooth wood to brush his teeth and scrape his tongue, and this must be done in the proper way. Only after one has washed one's hands and mouth may one make salutations. Otherwise both the saluter and the saluted are at fault. In Sanskrit, the tooth wood is known as the dantakasthadanta meaning tooth, and kastha, a piece of wood. It is twelve finger-widths in length. The shortest is not less than eight finger-widths long, resembling the little finger in size. Chew one end of the wood well for a long while and then brush the teeth with it.

A wide variety of plants can be used as dantakastha. [8]

In Africa, many kinds of sticks exist and many plants and trees are used to produce them by various peoples, ethnicities and tribes [9] 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 (written traditions relating to the life of Muhammad). [10]

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.

Traditional Sikhs still use datun today as it is written in their scriptures:

Twigs used

Spring blossoms of kikar (babool) at Hodal in Faridabad, Haryana, India Babool (Acacia nilotica) flowers at Hodal W IMG 1163.jpg
Spring blossoms of kikar (babool) at Hodal in Faridabad, Haryana, India
Neem (Azadirachta indica) in Hyderabad, India Neem (Azadirachta indica) in Hyderabad W IMG 6976.jpg
Neem (Azadirachta indica) in Hyderabad, India

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: [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

Europe and North America

Australia

India

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:

See also

References

  1. Winer, Lise (2009). Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad & Tobago. McGill-Queen's. p. 285. ISBN   978-0-7735-7607-0. [ Bhojpuri ]datwan, dantwan, [ Hindi ]datwoon 'toothbrush; twig for cleansing the teeth'
  2. https://bbrc.in/a-review-on-the-pharmagnostic-evaluation-of-meswak-salvadora-persica/
  3. 1 2 Panati, Charles (2013). Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things. HarperCollins. pp. 208–209. ISBN   978-0-06-227708-4.
  4. 1 2 3 Yu, Hai-Yang; Qian, Lin-Mao; Zheng, Jing (2013). Dental Biotribology. Springer. pp. 18–19. ISBN   978-1-4614-4550-0.
  5. Dantakaṭṭha sutta (AN 5.208) Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka Buddhavasse 2500
  6. Singh, Abhinav; Purohit, Bharathi (2011). "Tooth brushing, oil pulling and tissue regeneration: A review of holistic approaches to oral health". Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine. 2 (2): 64–68. doi: 10.4103/0975-9476.82525 . PMC   3131773 . PMID   21760690.
  7. Li, R., 2000. Buddhist Monastic Traditions of Southern Asia: A Record of the Inner Law Sent Home from the South Seas (p. 198). Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research.
  8. Panuganti, Siva (2018). "Dantakasthas (Chewing Sticks) in Ayurveda: A Review". Advances in Complementary & Alternative Medicine. 2 (3). doi: 10.31031/ACAM.2018.02.000536 .
  9. Roland Portères Journal d'agriculture traditionnelle et de botanique appliquée Année 1974 21-4-6 pp. 111-150, https://www.persee.fr/doc/jatba_0021-7662_1974_num_21_4_3157
  10. "Search Results - miswak (page 1) - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com.
  11. "Tankahnama". SearchGurbani.com. Gateway to Sikhism. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  12. "Neem tree as teeth cleaning twig". Batplants.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2011-01-13. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  13. "Natural twigs used as teeth cleaning twigs". Naturaltoothbrush.com. Archived from the original on 2011-02-07. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  14. "Neem tree as teeth cleaning twig 2". Neem-products.com. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  15. "Natural toothbrush twigs". Naturallygreen.co.uk. 2007-09-15. Archived from the original on 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  16. "Natural toothbrush overview". Nzherald.co.nz. 2007-06-19. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  17. "Xuanzang (玄奘) <603 - 664>: Buddhist records of the Western world (大唐西域記), book VIII/IX". www.payer.de.
  18. 1 2 Fletcher, Pascal (19 June 2007). "African twig brushes offer all-day dental care". The New Zealand Herald. NZME. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  19. 1 2 3 Ra'ed I. Al Sadhan, Khalid Almas (1999). "Miswak (chewing Stick): A Cultural And Scientific Heritage". Saudi Dental Journal. 11 (2): 80–88.
  20. Cheek (2004)