A twig a day...
2007-06-22 13:08
Dakar - Brush your teeth every day,
dentists say. In Africa, that can mean keeping your toothbrush
in your mouth all day long.
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 in the bush, this is the
African toothbrush. Its users swear it is much more natural,
effective - and cheaper - than the prettily packaged but
pricey dental products on sale 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 as he sought handouts from
foreigners in downtown Dakar.
In Senegal, the chewing stick is called "sothiou", which
means "to clean" in the local Wolof language. In east Africa,
the stick is called "mswaki", the Swahili word for toothbrush.
Their users say the sticks are also medicinal, providing not
just dental hygiene but also curing a variety of other ills.
Dental experts agree they seem to clean teeth well and some
upmarket health stores in the United States have been selling
chew-sticks as a natural form of dental care.
"It's good for your stomach and your head ... it whitens
your teeth and gets rid of bad breath," said Abedis Sauda, a
Senegalese street vendor.
Traders in Dakar and other Senegalese cities sell neat
bundles of the pencil-sized sticks on the pavement, offering a variety of different types of wood at different prices.
Werek, Neep-Neep
Elimane Diop, 70, dressed in a blue boubou robe and white
bonnet, extols the virtues of his wares with all the pride of a
salesman for a multinational health care company, explaining the
advantages of a new design of brush or type of dental floss.
"This is the Dakhaar ... It cleans really well," said Diop,
holding up a slender, knotty twig with a dark brown bark.
Another bush toothbrush, the Werek, is cut from the branches
of the gum tree, while the thicker Neep-Neep helps ease
toothache. "If you've a bad tooth, it's a medicine," said Diop.
The Cola, cut from a soft, whitish wood, is prized for its
sweet taste.
If chewed, most of the twigs fray into finer strands, which
have the effect of "flossing" between the teeth, or if rubbed up
and down, can scrub tooth enamel clean as well as any brush. But
they can taste bitter compared with commercial toothpastes.
"There are several documented studies which suggest that the
cleaning sticks are at least as effective as normal toothbrushes
and paste in maintaining routine oral health," Christine D Wu,
Professor and Associate Dean for Research at the University of
Illinois College of Dentistry, told Reuters.
She said some laboratory studies indicated plants from which
some of the sticks in Africa are cut contain protective
anti-microbial compounds that act against the bacteria in the
mouth which cause tooth decay and gum disease.
"And if these sticks do contain fluoride, as plants do, then
this would be beneficial for caries prevention," Wu said,
although she stressed much more research needed to be done on
the sticks and their use by humans.
Religious recommendation
The World Health Organisation has encouraged the use of
chewing sticks as an alternative source of oral hygiene in poor
countries where many cannot afford commercial dental products.
In mostly Muslim Senegal, people say there is religious
precedent for the use of the chewing sticks.
In holy Islamic writings known as the Hadith, the Prophet
Mohammed recommends their use as part of cleaning rituals that
are an essential element of daily prayers.
"For prayers, you have to get really clean, and that
includes the teeth," said Diop, an invalid whose left leg is
deformed - a childhood injury sustained when a sharp twig
pierced his bare foot in the bush and the wound became infected.
Although commercially made toothbrushes from leading
international brands are available in Dakar supermarkets and
pharmacies, many people say they prefer the chew sticks.
"It's better because it's natural. I used to use a brush,
but it made my gums bleed," said Allissane Sy, an off-duty
police officer, stopping to buy a stick from Diop.
Price helps too. While a manufactured toothbrush can cost
upwards of 300 CFA francs, a chew-stick costs only 25
or 50 CFA.
Diop said each type of stick had different stories and
origins associated with them.
For example, the one named Matou-kel was believed to bring
luck. It is named after the tree it is cut from where bush deer
- prized in Senegal for their tender tasty venison - like to
feed and rest.
Another wood variety, Soumpou, was traditionally used to
provide a liquid used to cook a fortifying dish, Laakh, which is
made with millet. "It gives energy," Diop said.
But Wu had a word of warning for stick chewers: don't overdo
it, as too-vigorous scrubbing can push back the gums, causing
gum recession exposing teeth roots to damage and decay.