DAKAR - Brush your teeth every day, dentists say. In Africa, that can mean keeping your toothbrush in your mouth all day.
DAKAR - Brush your teeth every day, dentists say. In Africa, that can mean keeping your toothbrush in your mouth all day.
Across the continent, south of the Sahara, many people go about their daily business with a small stick or twig protruding from their mouth, which they chew or use to scrub their teeth.
Cut from wild trees and shrubs, this is the African toothbrush. Its users swear it is much more natural, effective - and cheaper - than the pretty but pricey dental products sold in pharmacies and supermarkets.
"It cleans your teeth more than plastic brushes, with the liquid that comes out of the wood," said Marcelino Diatta, a stick twitching from his mouth. - Reuters
Africa does it its way
DAKAR - Brush your teeth every day, dentists say. In Africa, that can mean keeping your toothbrush in your mouth all day.
DAKAR - Brush your teeth every day, dentists say. In Africa, that can mean keeping your toothbrush in your mouth all day.
Across the continent, south of the Sahara, many people go about their daily business with a small stick or twig protruding from their mouth, which they chew or use to scrub their teeth.
Cut from wild trees and shrubs, this is the African toothbrush. Its users swear it is much more natural, effective - and cheaper - than the pretty but pricey dental products sold in pharmacies and supermarkets.
"It cleans your teeth more than plastic brushes, with the liquid that comes out of the wood," said Marcelino Diatta, a stick twitching from his mouth. - Reuters