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No-one likes a trip to the dentist. But in parts of Uganda, the choice is often "do-it-yourself" or see the witch doctor.
"Even if dental care was available, very few could afford it," said dentist Erik Ahlbom.
"People visit the local witch doctor for a diagnosis and the treatment can be brutal with primitive tools. It can be extraordinarily painful for the patient."
The Swedish dentist, who runs the Port Erin dental surgery in the Isle of Man, has just returned from a two-week trip to the East African country, where he treated hundreds of patients.
The mission was part of the Dentaid campaign, which aims to help victims of infant oral mutilation.
Its volunteers have described examples of unqualified people "removing an infant's healthy baby teeth using unsterile knives and bicycle spokes" resulting in severe pain and, in the most severe cases, death.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-20071408
"Even if dental care was available, very few could afford it," said dentist Erik Ahlbom.
"People visit the local witch doctor for a diagnosis and the treatment can be brutal with primitive tools. It can be extraordinarily painful for the patient."
The Swedish dentist, who runs the Port Erin dental surgery in the Isle of Man, has just returned from a two-week trip to the East African country, where he treated hundreds of patients.
The mission was part of the Dentaid campaign, which aims to help victims of infant oral mutilation.
Its volunteers have described examples of unqualified people "removing an infant's healthy baby teeth using unsterile knives and bicycle spokes" resulting in severe pain and, in the most severe cases, death.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-20071408