Before getting to know toothbrushes and toothpaste, ancient people used miswak to keep their teeth and mouth clean. Even though it's not widely used, in fact, siwak does have a variety of benefits that it's a shame to miss.
Siwak or miswak is the trunk or twig of the arak tree (Salvador persica). Trees that are included in the category of shrubs are commonly found in the Middle East region.
The benefits of miswak for dental and oral health are no longer in doubt. One of them is to prevent cavities. No wonder the tradition of siwak (cleaning teeth with siwak) is still quite popular in Middle Eastern countries and some African countries.
Various Benefits of Siwak for Dental and Oral Health
There are many natural ingredients in siwak that are believed to be able to maintain healthy teeth and mouth, including alkaloids, silica, sodium bicarbonate, chloride, and fluoride. In addition, miswak also contains other natural ingredients, such as vitamin C, calcium, sulfur, essential oils, and tannins.
Here are some of the benefits that you can get from routinely cleaning your teeth using miswak:
1. Prevent cavities and maintain tooth strength
Siwak is believed to prevent cavities. This benefit can be obtained thanks to essential oils contained in the miswak, and how to use it, which must be chewed first so as to increase the production of saliva in the mouth.
The saliva produced can help maintain the pH balance in the oral cavity. That way, the growth of bacteria that causes cavities can be suppressed.
In addition, miswak can also inhibit tooth loss, thus helping to maintain the strength of the teeth.
2. Prevent bad breath and freshen breath
In addition to preventing cavities, siwak is also useful for eliminating bad breath. This is because the stems or twigs of miswak contain natural antibacterial substances that can inhibit the growth of germs that cause bad breath.
Generally, treatment products that use the basic ingredient of miswak will be combined with mint leaves to help freshen breath.
3. Prevents the formation of dental plaque
Dental plaque can easily form if you are lazy to brush your teeth after eating. Food residue that is still attached to the surface and between the teeth will accumulate and form plaque. Plaque can be converted by bacteria in the mouth into acid that can damage teeth.
To avoid this, you can clean your teeth with a miswak. The silica content in miswak is able to prevent the formation of dental plaque. Not only that, the silica in siwak is also effective for removing yellow stains on the teeth.
4. Protects the gums
Another benefit that you can get from routinely cleaning your teeth with miswak is to protect your gums. The reason is, miswak is able to prevent plaque formation and bacterial growth between the teeth and gums, thereby reducing the risk of gingivitis.
How to Use Siwak?
Actually, how to siwak or use miswak to brush your teeth is quite easy. You just need to use it like you're brushing your teeth with a regular toothbrush.
Here are the steps for using miswak to clean teeth:
- Cut and peel the end of the miswak about 1 cm.
- Chew the peeled end of the siwak until the stem fibers open and form feathers.
- When it is soft and forms brush bristles, immediately soak the miswak in water.
- Clean the teeth with the part of the miswak that is already in the form of feathers.
When the miswak's feathers have begun to unravel, you can cut and remove the remaining fiber feathers. Peel again the end of the skin of the miswak, then chew to form new brush bristles.
Currently, there are many dental care products that use siwak wood extract, making it easier and more practical for you to get the various benefits of miswak.
Utilization of Siwak Products
Seeing the many benefits of miswak for dental and oral health, it's no wonder if World Health Organization (WHO) has approved siwak as an agent oral hygen.
However, if you want to get the benefits of miswak in a more practical way, you can use toothpaste that contains miswak. Toothpaste products containing miswak can also be enriched by leaf extract mint, so it can make your mouth more fragrant and fresh.
Siwak has been used for a long time to maintain oral and dental health. Besides being halal, this material also has many medically proven benefits. Even so, if you want to use siwak or products made from siwak, it never hurts to consult a doctor first, especially if you have allergies to the ingredients in these products.