Salvadora persica

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iSalvadora persica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Brassicales Family: Salvadoraceae Genus: Salvadora Species: S. persica
Binomial name
Salvadora persica Wall.

The toothbrush tree, Salvadora persica (other names Galenia asiatica, Salvadora indica), is a small tree or shrub with a crooked trunk, seldom more than one foot in diameter, bark scabrous and cracked, whitish with pendulous extremities. The root bark of the tree is light brown and the inner surfaces are white, odour is like cress and taste is warm and pungent. Its fibrous branches have been used as toothbrushes by many Islamic communities — miswaks. It was recommended to be used before every prayer:"if it was not too much of a burden then I would tell the believers to use the siwak before every prayer" It has been scientifically proven to be very useful in the prevention of tooth decay even when used without any other tooth cleaning means. The users of siwak have shown a remarkable lack of tooth decay when compared with other tooth sticks and no tooth cleaning at all. Chemically, the air dried stem bark of S. Persica is treated with 80% alcohol and then with ether and run through exhaustive chemical procedures. This showed that it is composed of;Trim ethyl amine; An alkaloid which may be salvadorine; Chlorides; High amounts of fluoride and silica; Sulphur; Vitamin C; Small amounts of Tannins, saponins, fiavenoids & sterols; Oral hygiene and patient motivation towards a clean mouth owe their birth to the teachings of Muhammad. Due to the repeated use of Siwak during the day, the users showed an unusually high level of oral cleanliness. It is a well known fact that plaque formed immediately after meticulous toothbrushing. By the end of 24 hours the plaque is well on its way towards maturation and hence starts its deliterious effects on the gingiva.

Proper oral hygiene should be maintained through intensive instructions by the periodontist as well as by a great expenditure of time and dexterity on part of the patient. This item is self corrected in Muslims because Siwak users take Siwak as a device that should be used as part of their religious ritual regimen.

The results obtained in this investigation have proved that Siwak and other tree twigs could act as an effective tool in removing soft oral deposits. It could be even used as an effective device in preventive dental programmes in mass populations. The indices used in these investigations were simple and adequate as they discriminated between experimental stages as well as between experimental groups.

Using starch is not quite accurate but it was meant to evaluate the degree by which Siwak and powdered Siwak could rid teeth of deposits as compared to the best abrasive viz. commercial powder.

It is noticed that the difference between first and fifth week of the mean score of plaque percentage for powdered Siwak is the highest (-11.2%) of all readings. This indicates that powdered Siwak is used with t mechanically proper device i.e. tooth brush will give a great deal of oral cleanliness.

It has been reported that Salvadora Persica contains substances that possess antibacterial properties. Some of the other components are astringents, detergents and abrasives . Those properties encourage some toothpaste laboratories to incorporate powdered stems and/or root material of Salvadora persica in their roducts (Beckenham UK Sarakan Ltd.).

Although the commercial powder gave a high degree of efficiency in plaque removal yet its use over the experimental period gave a high score of gingivitis percentage within the group using the powder. It is true that plaque eradication is essential but this should not be on the expense of deleterious side effect on other tissues.

It could be concluded that Siwak and powdered Siwak are excellent tools for oral cleanliness. Because of its availability in this part of the world, being inexpensive and readily adopted by Muslims as part of their religious regimen, it is highly recommended in implementing a preventive dental health program in Islamic countries. Also recommendations should be directed to manufacturers of toothpastes to include the powdered form of Siwak in highly sophisticated toothpaste.

with permission from: 'http://www.islamset.com/sc/plants/siwak.html'