Miswak or Manufactured Brush: Cost per Year of Effective Cleaning Where Brushes and Paste Are Hard to Afford

Miswak, the chewing stick of Salvadora persica, is widely described as the economical alternative to a manufactured brush and paste. This study tests that description at stated prices: a stick at USD 0.15 replaced weekly, against a brush at USD 0.60 replaced every eight weeks plus toothpaste at USD 0.80 per 100 g tube consumed in 100 days. A year of purchased miswak costs USD 7.80; a year of brush and paste costs USD 6.82. Dividing by stated relative efficacy (brush and paste 1.00, miswak five times daily 0.92, miswak twice daily 0.78) gives costs per unit of efficacy of USD 6.82, USD 8.48, and USD 10.00 respectively. Purchased miswak is therefore not the cheaper system; it is cheaper only where sticks are gathered at no cash cost. This study is simulated, not measured. SIMULATED, NOT MEASURED.