Book For Children: Miswak, The Natural Toothbrush

Get hold of the miswak stick to introduce fun oral hygiene to your little ones 

I bought this book over the summer of a binge book shopping session, called 'Miswak, The Natural Toothbrush'. I can't find an online seller but I got this is at a local Islamic store called The Message. Anywho, it's a smashing little find.

The storybook comes in a kit with a ready to use miswak - the toothbrush made literally from a tree branch - two sheets of goal setting stickers and a folded pack cover, for notes I assume. Using a sharp knife the miswak stick just needs a carve on one end to reveal the sinewy white centre. I'm hoping to use this as my toothbrush for now on, because all the plasticky ones I've had this year alone (3) were okay-ish but lacking. I couldn't recycle them either, what a waste.

I'm a huge advocate of "doing". Try something out before teaching it, be the doer before the lecturer. For children (aged -35), a visit to the dentist is akin to getting drilled in your knuckles without anesthesia. A child-friendly gift like a miswak pack can really make tooth brushing interesting and prevent meeting the dentist altogether! *Advisory, go to your dentist at least twice a year.

Plus, a natural toothbrush is the eco-way to go for using less water as Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was a miswak twig user himself. I'm trying to revive another sunnah.

While I go figure out how to scrap a miswak so it's usable, take a read of my interview over on Green Prophet with a miswak designer ready to mass produce natural oral healthcare: THIS Toothbrush Is A Miswak.