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"THIS toothbrush": Twig tooth-cleanser by Leen Sadder
By Sam Dunne - Jan 29, 2011
At the School of Visual Arts, Core77's own Allan Chochinov challenged students on his 3D Design course to redesign the first thing they threw out after class. Finding herself chucking an empty tube of toothpaste, Lebonese design student Leen Sadder sprang into action, busily researching the history of toothpaste and its relationship to the toothbrush.
Leen soon stumbled upon the "Miswak"; a cleansing twig of the Salvadora persica tree, used for the purposes of teeth cleaning throughout the Middle-East and Asia for millennia. Recognizing the sustainability-potential of eliminating both the toothbrush and paste, Leen's intriguing "THIS" concept aims to package and promote the Miswak as an organic and biodegradable alternative to the Western teeth cleansing routine.
Acknowledging the difficulty of ingratiating a Western audience to her twigs, Leen included a clever cigar-cutter-like lid to her packaging concept—the bark traditionally being stripped to the brush like fibres with a bit of good old fashioned chewing.
Although we still can't see the Miswak taking off in the 21st century West, Miss Sadder's concept certainly gives us a critical perspective on the teeth-cleaning industry—masters of manufactured demand that they could be accused of being.
Sam Dunne
Sam Dunne is a designer, strategist and writer based in London. Sam is founder of design strategy agency Cohere and Contributing Editor at Core77—reporting broadly on design, technology, food and object culture.
14 Comments
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Just started using miswak and LOVE it!!Report as spam
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Hi Everyone! We just wanted to let you know that THIS is close to becoming a reality. You can sign up for updates at http://signup.thisisatoothbrush.com or follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/thisisastick We can't wait!!Report as spam
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Please can someone tell me where can I find this product. I would like to give it a try.!Report as spam
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I like this twig , because it is organic 100% , it's called Miswak or peelu commonly used in Arabic and Muslims countries. it's also sold online , I found it here miswakstick.com!Report as spam
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my dad uses it! :D they are very handy!!Report as spam
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I like this idea too, but it isn't new. One year ago a friend and I had an other idea to integrate Miswak into our hygienic life - check it out here: http://heldtobias.de/index.php?/projects/zambesi/!Report as spam
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i like!Report as spam
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yes masood, its a mulsim tradition. have seen my grandparents & my dad using it, good to see it here :)!Report as spam
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Nice one Allan ;) You do seem to inspire kids...beyond their wildest dreams.!Report as spam
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This isn't all that new. This is a "tradition" that has been used for well over a 1000 years across the middle east. We're just seeing it being 'packaged' now.!Report as spam
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I don't think that 'Miswak deforestation' is a problem. The problem I have with this design is that the whole point of sustainability is killed off by that plastic cutter thingy.!Report as spam
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'THIS' is an interesting idea not just for the western but also Eastern audience. Using Miswak for cleaning teeth is slowing getting replaced by toothpaste, now there are toothpastes which consist of Miswak as an element, or so they say. Something like this could pave the way to use Miswak again. Another common twig used is 'neem', especially in India.!Report as spam
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i like.!Report as spam
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A beautifully clever and elegant idea. I've often thought about how poorly designed our teeth are for our modern day use that we need to maintain them with toothbrush and toothpaste. However, I don't like it when designs such as these are proposed as sustainable solutions. How long would it be before we begin to hear about Miswak deforestation?!Report as spam
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