Before dentistry was regulated in the 20th century, it was common
practice for a person with no formal dental training to perform
dental procedues on the street. However in India there are more
licensed dental clinics setting up shop, which are slowly
making the services of street dentists obsolete.
Many baulk in horror at the idea of undergoing unsanitary dental
procedures, but for some it is a reality as they are unable to pay
for proper dental care. These street dentists usually perform
simple medical procedures such as extracting teeth. It is common
for street dentists to use rusty pliers, and carry out the
procedures without the use of gloves or anesthetics. Obviously the
shared tools increases the risk of blood-borne infections like
hepatitis B and C, but it is a risk the poor are willing to
take.
A roadside dentist checks the teeth of a patient in Jammu, India.
Although street dentistry is illegal in India, many still continue
to practice their trade. There are reports of policemen extorting
money from street dentists to allow them to continue their work
A roadside dentist cleans false teeth in Jammu, India. Many Indians
rely upon roadside dentists with or without medical license for
treatment of various ailments at a low cost.
Roadside dentist Mohammad Sharif works on a denture at his
makeshift clinic in Karachi. Treatment charges range from 600
rupees (US$9.70) for a minor toothache to 3,000 rupees (US$48.50)
for a major surgery. The signs in the background promote dental
hygiene.
Roadside dentist Mohammad Sharif works on a denture.
Ramjee Sao,75, a roadside dentist and Hindu holy man, checks the
teeth of a man as others wait at his roadside clinic in the
northern Indian city of Varanasi. Sao provides a range of dental
services from extractions, to filling cavities and routine pain
alleviation procedures to making a complete set of dentures.
Ramjee Sao fixes the dentures on a patient at his roadside clinic
in Varanasi
A roadside dentist treats a customer in Srinagar, India. Instead of
setting up a stall, he goes around tending to patients with his bag
of tools.
A dentist sets up shop using a few sheets of
tarp along a road in Lahore, Pakistan. Street dentists fulfill
a much-needed service for the poor.
A Pakistani dentist examines a patient at a roadside in Pakistani
town of Chaman along the Afghanistan border.
