Chewing sticks are widely used in Nigeria for dental and oral hygiene.

Maybe you have known that Xylitol has a powerful antibacterial action, particularly inhibiting the growth of Strep Mutans, the main bacteria responsible for cavities and other oral complaints. Xylitol boosts the effect of fluoride by reducing plaque and plaque acids. Many studies to evaluate the effectiveness of xylitol in preventing tooth decay have used xylitol chewing gum as their delivery vehicle.

But do you know Nigerians use chewing sticks for their mechanical cleansing effect.The choice of stick depends largely on traditional preference rather than clinical effectiveness.

Dental plaque formation and gingivitis are associated with the early stages of development of periodontal disease . There are numerous reports of studies on the microflora of the gingival crevice,dental plaque and chronic destructive periodontal disease. Most stress the importance of anaerobes in the aetiology of periodontal disease . Clinical studies by Hineshowed that the acquisition and maintenance of this microflora are associated with the accumulation of debris, leading to inflammation of the gingiva and subsequent infections. Others have corroborated this observation and shown that when bacterial deposits are removed the gingival inflammation subsides .The two methods employed by Nigerians to remove this debris are by tooth brush and paste, or by use of parts of various plants native to West Africa, referred to as “African Chewing Sticks”.About 80-90% of the Nigerian population use chewing sticks, mainly because they are readily available, cheap and efficacious. A few use a combination of the two methods.

Saliva-extracted “factors”obtained by chewing the end of the sticks produce an inhibitory effect on certain oral pathogens associated with the development of dental caries,gingivitis and other periodontal diseases . In an earlier study on the anaerobic bacterial flora of the gingival crevice of adult Nigerians we reported that some African chewing sticks removed the black pigmented Bacteroides spp. of the normal flora ; other Bacteroides spp. Appeared to be unaffected. This suggests the presence of antimicrobial substances specifically active against black-pigmented anaerobes. We report here the invitro susceptibility of some oral Bacteroides spp. To crude extracts of nine different chewing sticks. The different parts of each stick were also investigated to determine where the inhibitory substances may reside.
Materials and methods Bacterial strains Three reference strains of Bacteroides spp. and five strains isolated in  laboratory from clinical specimens were used as the test strains.

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