The Wrigley Company carried out a study on miswāk which was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The study found that mints laced with miswāk extract were 20 times more effective in killing bacteria than ordinary mints. After half an hour, the mints laced with miswāk extract killed about 60% of the bacteria where as the ordinary mints managed only 3.6%. In the August issue of Journal of Periodontology (2008) appeared a study conducted by Swedish researchers on miswāk. The study apparently found that suspended miswāk pieces in a Petri dish (containing medium for growing bacteria) were able to kill bacteria that cause periodontal disease with out being in physical contact with the bacteria. The researchers suggested that miswāk might be providing antibiotics as gases, trying to explain this phenomenon. Another study which compared tooth-brushing and using miswāk can be found on Pubmed (U.S National Library for Medicine Service). The study concluded that miswāk was more effective than tooth brushing in reducing plaque and gingivitis provided it was used correctly. Similarly a study conducted by a group of dentists at King Saud University concluded that using miswāk was at least as good as tooth-brushing, if not better. The effectiveness of miswāk has been attributed to its strong antibacterial properties. Another feature of miswāk thought to contribute to its effectiveness, mentioned by the King Saud University study, is that its bristles are parallel to the handle rather than perpendicular which means effective cleaning between the teeth. The World Health Organisation (WHO) interestingly enough recommended the use of the miswāk in 1986. So we would have to agree that using miswāk is both rewardable and effective
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 08:23:19 +0000
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