Table 1.

Search strategy

Database	Rationale	Search string	Filter
EBSCOHOST (dentistry and oral sciences)	Consist of an extensive collection of essential full-text dentistry journals and many of which are open access	(siwak or miswak or ‘’chewing stick’’) AND ( periodontium or periodontal or ‘’periodontal health’’ or ‘’periodontal disease’’)	Year: 1990–2021, source type: Academic journal, English language
PubMed	Is a primary medical database, allowing for a more permissive search string to include more medical research in the clinical field	(siwak[Title/Abstract] OR miswak[Title/Abstract] OR “chewing stick”[Title/Abstract]) AND (periodontium[Title/Abstract] OR periodontal[Title/Abstract] OR “periodontal health”[Title/Abstract] OR “periodontal disease”[Title/Abstract])	Year 1990–2021, Exclude book and document
SCOPUS	Is a database that consists of comprehensive and rich data in a wide variety of disciplines	( TITLE-ABS-KEY ( siwak OR miswak OR “chewing stick”) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY ( periodontium OR periodontal OR ‘’periodontal AND health’’ OR ‘’periodontal AND disease’’))	Article, Year: 1990–2021, English, Final publication stage, subject area dentistry
Google scholar	Provides an easy way to search for full text or metadata of scholarly literature, across a wide range of publishing formats and disciplines	siwak OR miswak OR periodontium OR periodontal “periodontal disease” “periodontal health’’ ‘’chewing stick’’	Year: 1990–2021