Chewing sticks and the oral hygiene habits of the adult Pakistani population.

This paper discusses the oral hygiene habits of the adult Pakistani population with special reference to chewing sticks. Information collected during the National Health Survey of Pakistan (1990-1994) showed that in the rural areas more than 50 per cent of the population used chewing sticks or miswak as a tool for oral hygiene. Conversely, in the urban population the majority use a toothbrush. About 36 per cent of the Pakistani population clean their teeth daily, irrespective of the method employed. Eight per cent of the 120 million population never clean their teeth, while 54 per cent clean their teeth either on alternate days, weekly or monthly.