World Bulletin / News Desk

A smart white coat is no proof of being a qualified medical practitioner in Morocco, where fake dentists and other "health professionals" thrive on poverty, sometimes with wretched consequences.

"It's all a question of know-how. I inherited mine from my father," Hamid says proudly, sporting a thin moustache and teeth yellowed by thick deposits of tartar.

About a dozen patients wait their turn under an ancient, ragged sunshade, seated on plastic stools bearing the logo of a renowned brand of soft drink.

Hamid cleanses the pincers with bleach, then inserts them into the mouth of a woman wearing a jellaba. In one skilled and unexpected tug, he wrenches out a decayed stub.

The woman grimaces and spits out blood. Hamid's 10-year-old son hastens to fetch her cotton wool and aspirin from the boot of an old German sedan car, which serves as the medical cabinet for a mobile dentist's family.