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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 can be used effectively as a natural toothbrush for teeth cleaning.
Salvadora persica is a small tree or shrub with a crooked trunk, [3] [need quotation to verify] typically 6–7 metres (20–23 ft) in height. [1] Its bark is scabrous and cracked, whitish with pendulous extremities. The root bark of the tree is similar in colour to sand, and the inner surfaces are an even lighter shade of brown.
Traditional Bengali miswak, made out of Neem tree. Before the invention of the toothbrush, a variety of oral hygiene measures had been used. [6] This has been verified by excavations during which tree twigs, bird feathers, animal bones and porcupine quills were recovered. The predecessor of the toothbrush is the chew stick.
In Africa, chew sticks are 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). [8] In South India, neem is used as a teeth cleaning twig. Neem, in ...
Traditionally, slender tree twigs (called datun) are first chewed as a toothbrush and then split as a tongue cleaner. [6] This practise has been in use in Pakistan, Africa, and the Middle East for centuries. Many of India's 80% rural population still start their day with the teeth cleaning twig either with Salvadora persica or Azadirachta indica.
As a result of its construction around a central pole, the brush of the besom is rounded instead of flat. The bristles can be made of many materials including, but not limited to straw, herbs, or twigs. Traditionally, the handle is of hazel wood and the head is of birch twigs.
Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. [3] The term twig usually refers to a terminus , while bough refers only to branches coming directly from the trunk. Due to a broad range of species of trees, branches and twigs can be found in many different shapes and sizes.
The Havasupai split the twigs to make as basket material and used bundles as a broom for dusting off metates. The Papago broke the twigs in half to make baskets, and were curved to make difficult weaves in the baskets. The Pima piled dried bushes for a brush fence, and used the branches for cradle frames too.