Comparison of miswak toothbrush and conventional nylon toothbrush of its abrasivity on enamel and dentine surface

Abstract

The miswak toothbrush was invented to serve almost similar to the miswak stick but in a toothbrush form. However, its abrasivity has not been explored to be used without toothpaste. This study aims to compare the commercially available miswak toothbrushes and the conventional nylon toothbrushes in terms of their potential to cause tooth wear. Extracted human molar tooth samples were collected from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and government dental clinics. A total of 72 samples were collected (n=36 enamel, n=36 dentine). Those samples were further divided into either miswak (Al-Abyad Miswak) or conventional nylon toothbrush (Oral-B™) group, brush with either water (control), low abrasive fluoridated toothpaste (Sensodyne Fresh Mint, GSK, Malaysia) or high abrasive fluoridated toothpaste (Colgate® Advance White, Colgate-Palmolive, Malaysia). Based on this, a total of 12 sample groups were subjected to a cycle of erosion, remineralization, and abrasion for 5 days. The step height loss (tooth wear) on each sample’s surface was analyzed using a non-contact profilometry (Alicona Imaging GmbH, Raaba, Austria). For enamel samples, the mean z-height loss for all samples brushed with miswak toothbrushes was higher than those brushed with conventional nylon toothbrushes, with a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). For dentine samples, it also showed a higher mean z-height loss for all samples brushed with miswak toothbrushes compared to the samples brushed with conventional nylon toothbrushes, but there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) between the two groups. No statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) was found in tooth wear on both enamel and dentine samples with the use of water (control), low abrasive or high abrasive toothpaste for both miswak and conventional toothbrushes. There was no interaction between the toothbrush and toothpaste type used (P > 0.05) for both enamel and dentine samples. In conclusion, the miswak toothbrush causes more tooth wear on enamel surface but not on dentine, and the use of toothpaste does not influence tooth wear caused by toothbrushing in this study.