Not All Cultures Use Toothbrushes. However How Efficient Are Various Strategies?

Most individuals use toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss to scrub their enamel, however their use is not at all common. Many indigenous teams, in addition to folks in creating international locations, use conventional strategies to scrub their enamel.

A few of these strategies are more practical than others.

Many individuals within the Center East, and a few components of South and Southeast Asia, use twigs from the arak tree (often called miswak) to scrub their enamel.

They fray the top of the twig, dampen the ensuing bristles with water or rosewater after which rub the bristles towards their enamel (see video beneath).

The wooden of the arak tree (Salvadora persica) has a excessive focus of fluoride and different antimicrobial parts that forestall tooth decay.

Twigs from different bushes, particularly fragrant bushes that freshen the mouth, are utilized in totally different cultures. These so-called chew sticks have been in use for 1000’s of years. The primary recorded use was in historical Babylonia (3500 BC) however they had been additionally utilized in China way back to 1600 BC.

Utilizing twigs can have related cleansing results as a standard toothbrush, as proven in a number of research. However the sticks cannot attain areas between the enamel, and if they don’t seem to be used correctly, they will harm the gums and abrade the enamel.

Fingers

In some cultures, folks rub varied substances onto their enamel with their fingers. For instance, in some Muslim international locations, folks rub walnut tree bark on their enamel.

The bark of this tree has antimicrobial properties and can also be believed to have a whitening impact. Nevertheless, no research have been carried out to research its effectiveness or unwanted side effects.

Some folks in rural India, Africa, Southeast Asia and South America use brick powder, mud, salt or ash to scrub their enamel. Though these components successfully take away stains and plaque, they do not include fluoride and are sometimes abrasive, leading to delicate enamel and receding gums.

Charcoal, which can also be a standard tooth cleansing powder, is making a little bit of a comeback. Some fashionable toothpastes and toothbrushes now include this ingredient, and proof means that it may bind to dangerous micro organism and inactivate them.

However not all pure merchandise may be really useful. Betel quid and areca nuts – which are sometimes utilized in Southeast Asia for tooth cleansing – stain the enamel and gums. And worse than that, they’re related to an elevated danger of oral most cancers.

One other tooth cleansing methodology that does not contain toothpaste or a toothbrush is oil pulling – an historical Ayurvedic observe. Right here, a small quantity of coconut, sesame, sunflower or olive oil is swirled across the mouth for 15 minutes.

That is believed to clean out micro organism and toxins. Oil pulling, when carried out together with routine brushing and flossing, may also help to scale back gum irritation, in keeping with latest research.

Fashionable strategies

Tooth decay (caries) and gum illness (gingivitis and periodontitis) are among the many commonest illnesses, with a lot of the world inhabitants affected, in keeping with the World Well being Organisation. With few exceptions, these illnesses are preventable with excellent oral hygiene and a nutritious diet.

The excessive share of individuals affected by these illnesses means that most individuals’s oral hygiene strategies are lower than the perfect customary and have to be improved.

Fashionable oral hygiene gadgets are particularly designed to scrub even tough to succeed in areas within the mouth and are extremely efficient, however solely when achieved accurately. Nevertheless, some different cleansing strategies, akin to oil pulling, are helpful additions.

Josefine Hirschfeld, Tutorial Scientific Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry, College of Birmingham.

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