The tooth-cleaning stick: its merits and demerits.

: The use of various plants for oral hygiene purposes is still commonly practised among various cultures. Pencil-sized sticks are fashioned from certain plant-parts and are chewed on one end until they become frayed into a brush. The brush-end is used to clean the teeth in a similar manner to the tooth-brush and paste. The plants when used in this manner are commonly referred to as the "chewing stick". The paper introduces a more appropriate term, the "tooth-cleaning stick". The new concept impresses on the mind the objective and the ultimate goal of using the stick, that is, for cleaning--and not merely for chewing as it is often practised. The merits and demerits of this oral hygiene procedure are presented. Suggestions on how to minimize the reported shortcomings associated with the procedure are offered.