[mauve]

Anyone knows about it ?
It is used in muslim countries and is supposed to be more efficient than modern toothpaste for whitening the teeth...
I just bough one twig today and one toothpaste ("siwak-f") in a moroccan grocery. I hope it works ! The taste is not very strong and not bad. The funny thing is that, after a little chewing, the fibers of the twig have a brush-like form, very convenient.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miswak


it is made from Salvadora persica branches:

http://en.wikipedia....lvadora_persica

[gerbil]

yeah you can pick it up at some shops in town around here i'm pretty sure,

know a guy who uses it all the time, fitting the general user description too but moved to Australia a while back.

a very interesting plant, both the bristles you speak of through manipulation and it's use/chemisty, smells very toothpasty/antiseptic like from memory but pleasant.

[Freaky Chicken]

Dried dock (Rumex sp.) roots also work well as a natural toothbrush.
We used to dig up the dock in the garden, hang it on the fence to dry and then use it to clean our teeth.
It forms bristles and doesn't taste to bad.
I'm not sure it has traditionally used this way but it works.