NEW YORK, Mar 17 (Reuters Health) -- The western world's use of the
toothbrush and toothpaste as part of a daily dental hygiene regimen is not the
only effective way to clean teeth and prevent plaque build-up. In fact, for
thousands of years much of the developing world has been preventing cavities and
gum decay by using chewing sticks from the root, stem, or twig of local trees
and shrubs.
Researchers have now isolated the antimicrobial agents in some of these
sticks that they believe act to kill bacteria in the mouth and surrounding the
teeth. Their findings are published in the March 20th issue of the Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
"We know that in plants there are all sorts of properties and chemicals that
can kill germs, fungi and viruses. And perhaps some are released from these
chewing sticks that can kill bacteria (that cause) bad breath, and bacteria that
cause gum disease and that start cavities," said study co-author Dr. Christine
Wu, an associate professor of periodontics in the College of Dentistry at the
University of Illinois at Chicago.
Wu and her associates at the University of Stellenbosch in Tygerberg, South
Africa, specifically looked at the properties of one particular chewing stick in
Namibia commonly referred to as "muthala." An earlier oral health survey of over
2,000 Namibians had indicated that the 20% of the population that use muthala
had lower cavity rates than those who did not use any dental hygiene method.
The sticks are prepared by cleaning the wood, removing the bark, and cutting
and bundling them into usable sizes that are sold in local markets. Over time,
the sticks become frayed by chewing, which serves to clean teeth not only by
passively releasing such compounds but also by active repeated mechanical use in
brush-like fashion.
In the current investigations, the researchers were able to isolate four
compounds found in the pencil-sized chewing sticks that demonstrated an ability
to inhibit oral bacteria.
In an interview with Reuters Health, Wu said the findings were part of an
effort to embark on research into the burgeoning field of alternative medicine
and hygiene. "We are connected to the Center for Botanical Studies funded by
National Institutes of Health," she noted. "The Center has $8 million over 5
years to study 10 botanicals and their effect and usage to treat disease related
to menopausal women, so we have a very good environment to study chemicals
isolated from plants."
Wu said that such work highlights alternative means to promote dental
hygiene in those places where toothpaste and toothbrushes are an unaffordable or
unavailable luxury.
"We know that dental plaque is the causative agent of cavities and gum
diseases, so we use toothbrushes daily to remove plaque and maintain our oral
health," she noted. "Toothpaste has chemicals that can kill germs, so we're
basically using a mechanical motion to clean off the plaque in combo with the
chemicals to kill of the germs. But those people who cannot afford the
toothbrush and the toothpaste can use a chewing stick to kill the germs."
Wu emphasized the practical nature of the chewing stick method, pointing out
that the sticks are used again and again and are considered to be socially
acceptable means of cleaning teeth in countries ranging from India to Saudi
Arabia and the Sudan. "People will chew on it, and if they go to friends they
take it out and use it and then put it back," she explained. "It's not like they
use it once and throw it out."
