Dental Care in Medieval Times

To keep teeth clean and avoid bad breath, medieval physicians highly recommended a regular oral routine. Siwak (variant miswak) was used to brush the teeth before praying and after waking up from sleep. It is the most ancient toothbrush, used ever since ancient Mesopotamian times, and it is still used to this day throughout most of the Islamic world.

The wood commonly used for making siwak is taken from the arak tree, described as a green sweet-smelling bushy tree with lots of branches and leaves, identified as a variety of saltbush (scientific name Salvadora persica). The wood stems with their pleasant scent, antibacterial properties, and fibrous texture help clean the teeth and mouth. As described in medieval sources, siwak was used by rubbing the teeth and gums vertically and horizontally, or it was chewed. When arak wood was not available, it was replaced by other kinds of wood, or by rubbing the teeth with su’d (Cyperus). In extreme cases, a coarse piece of cloth was used to rub the teeth and gums, or they were rubbed with the bare fingers. This was mostly done by toothless people (al-Ghazali, Ihya’ ‘Uloum al-Deen).