Salvadora persica L. (Meswak) in dental hygiene

Abstract

Salvadora persica L. of the family Salvadoraceae, is an evergreen shrub, with a short trunk 4–6 m tall, smooth green leaves and white bark. Meswak, a chewing stick is prepared from its stings and roots. Its anatomical structure as well as its chemical constituent which had been investigated from time to time in last three decades made this plant a choice as tooth-powder and tooth-cleaner. The acceptance of meswak is broad due to the fact that a part of Islam’s religious practice is the incorporation of dental hygiene and recommends meswak specifically for this purpose. Moreover the traditional use of S. persica as antimicrobial toothbrush stick for oral hygiene and to treat gum inflammation, is a part of Greeko-Arab system of medicine and is a centuries old practice. The available literature mostly stresses upon the higher antibacterial activity against oral bacteria of Meswak although the plant has other medicinal values. So keeping all of its beneficial therapeutic properties in view, this review was focused to highlight the available literature of its role in maintaining the dental hygiene and ultimately the potential and safely use as dental remedy.