miswak
Sign in to saveAlso known as Miswāk, Siwak
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".
~5 min read
Encyclopedic overview
11 sectionsContents
- Denominations
- History
- Science
- Miswak extract vs. oral disinfectants
- Chemical composition
- Religious prescriptions
- Hadiths concerning the miswak
- Alternative forms
- References
- Further reading
- External links
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. It is commonly used in the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa, North Africa, parts of the Sahel, the Indian subcontinent, and Central Asia.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “miswak” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.