Street Dentists of India
May 30, 2007 12:11 PM Subscribe
Not cringing enough? This gallery of photos of street dentists in India should solve that problem for you.
No. No. No. No. NO.
I really need to go to the dentist.
posted by miss lynnster at 12:19 PM on May 30, 2007
I really need to go to the dentist.
posted by miss lynnster at 12:19 PM on May 30, 2007
You know, if there was one of these booths in NYC, I'd probably go. Why not dispose of the faux-respectability that some clinics here enjoy just because they have walls and running water? It took the Polish dentist I went to in Greenpoint THREE TRIES to fix my broken incisor (that's two times in which I got home and then found part of it suddenly floating around in my mouth). At least a street dentist would possibly be both affordable AND in midtown, near work.
posted by hermitosis at 12:25 PM on May 30, 2007
posted by hermitosis at 12:25 PM on May 30, 2007
Sweet. Is there is a large Chinese population in India or if they've mixed in images from China as well. A lot of the signage is definitely in Chinese. (In some of the pictures, the signage is, indeed, in Indian.)
I wonder if these dentists also serve as barbers/surgeons, too?
posted by porpoise at 12:25 PM on May 30, 2007
I wonder if these dentists also serve as barbers/surgeons, too?
posted by porpoise at 12:25 PM on May 30, 2007
I like a dentist who's not afraid to clutch me by the snout go at my teeth with a wood file.
posted by The Straightener at 12:40 PM on May 30, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by The Straightener at 12:40 PM on May 30, 2007 [1 favorite]
The second the words "street dentist" registered in my conscious mind, every muscle in my face contracted in a rictus grimace. I will not be looking at that gallery, thank you very much.
posted by lekvar at 12:43 PM on May 30, 2007
posted by lekvar at 12:43 PM on May 30, 2007
I love how there's a Flat Stanley shot in there.
posted by padraigin at 12:55 PM on May 30, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by padraigin at 12:55 PM on May 30, 2007 [1 favorite]
Actually not grisly at all. I was expecting something shudder-inducing. Interesting link.
posted by brundlefly at 1:04 PM on May 30, 2007
posted by brundlefly at 1:04 PM on May 30, 2007
Oh, and LOL, padraigin! I hadn't noticed for some reason!
posted by brundlefly at 1:05 PM on May 30, 2007
posted by brundlefly at 1:05 PM on May 30, 2007
I see a syringe on the table, so I would hope that with that and cheap pharmaceuticals that the patients get a little lidocaine... at least I hope.
posted by zek at 1:06 PM on May 30, 2007
posted by zek at 1:06 PM on May 30, 2007
I actually know one of those guys! He set up shop on M.I. Road in Jaipur, near the old city gates, and I used to walk by his stand all the time.
He's wearing a different turban, and he's updated his banner, but number 11 is clearly this fellow.
To be fair though, I think he's just a denture seller, not a full-fledged drilling-and-filling dentist. He buys old dentures and resells them to people who can't afford a new pair.
posted by bookish at 1:07 PM on May 30, 2007
He's wearing a different turban, and he's updated his banner, but number 11 is clearly this fellow.
To be fair though, I think he's just a denture seller, not a full-fledged drilling-and-filling dentist. He buys old dentures and resells them to people who can't afford a new pair.
posted by bookish at 1:07 PM on May 30, 2007
The pics aren't that bad, people.
Personally, I think our society would benefit from more street whathaveyous. Not only would street lawyers, street accountants, and street air conditioner repairmen be very handy, but it would mean that much less sidewalk space for slacking teens, untalented buskers, and the elderly. It's win-win!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 1:08 PM on May 30, 2007
Personally, I think our society would benefit from more street whathaveyous. Not only would street lawyers, street accountants, and street air conditioner repairmen be very handy, but it would mean that much less sidewalk space for slacking teens, untalented buskers, and the elderly. It's win-win!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 1:08 PM on May 30, 2007
I just had a dental appointment today, and now I feel a tiny bit better about it.
posted by Foosnark at 1:13 PM on May 30, 2007
posted by Foosnark at 1:13 PM on May 30, 2007
OTHER SOCIETIES ARE FUNNY
HA HA, OTHER SOCIETIES
posted by poweredbybeard at 1:42 PM on May 30, 2007 [1 favorite]
HA HA, OTHER SOCIETIES
posted by poweredbybeard at 1:42 PM on May 30, 2007 [1 favorite]
"funny"? One of those dudes was chiseling a tooth out of another guy's head. It wasn't all that funny...
posted by jonson at 1:54 PM on May 30, 2007
posted by jonson at 1:54 PM on May 30, 2007
On the upside, you would be able to watch and see what sort of bedside manner the dentist has before you let them work on you. The photos really aren't bad, but most of us really don't know much about what goes on in dentists' offices. Who can even see what they're doing in there?
posted by yohko at 2:02 PM on May 30, 2007
posted by yohko at 2:02 PM on May 30, 2007
I'd hate to know what they have in the toy box for the kiddies.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 2:06 PM on May 30, 2007
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 2:06 PM on May 30, 2007
Seeing as though I don't see a lot (if any) Indian-looking and Chinese-looking people (or signage) together in the same picture, I would venture a guess that some photos were taken in China, others in India.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 2:29 PM on May 30, 2007
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 2:29 PM on May 30, 2007
little lidocaine
street lidocaine = morphine
another reason to see the street dentist!
posted by geos at 3:04 PM on May 30, 2007
street lidocaine = morphine
another reason to see the street dentist!
posted by geos at 3:04 PM on May 30, 2007
"street mohels"
They have those in Africa, but that's not what they're called there. I would track down the references but I have to wash dishes; search for "africa" and "circumcision" and be patient.
posted by davy at 3:43 PM on May 30, 2007
They have those in Africa, but that's not what they're called there. I would track down the references but I have to wash dishes; search for "africa" and "circumcision" and be patient.
posted by davy at 3:43 PM on May 30, 2007
This is pretty interesting. Whenever I'm at my "real" dentist, I always think, "Man, If I had the tools, I could do this."
posted by snsranch at 4:17 PM on May 30, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by snsranch at 4:17 PM on May 30, 2007 [1 favorite]
Only seven of those are India.
I see a syringe on the table, so I would hope that with that and cheap pharmaceuticals that the patients get a little lidocaine... at least I hope.
Nope. Clove oil.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:40 PM on May 30, 2007
I see a syringe on the table, so I would hope that with that and cheap pharmaceuticals that the patients get a little lidocaine... at least I hope.
Nope. Clove oil.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:40 PM on May 30, 2007
Interesting pictures. I wonder what the little cut-out guy is doing here. That Fun Hight blog sure has some unusual pictures posted. I particularly like this series.
posted by tellurian at 4:47 PM on May 30, 2007
posted by tellurian at 4:47 PM on May 30, 2007
I KNEW there was something I forgot to do when I was in Bangalore...
posted by ZenMasterThis at 6:13 PM on May 30, 2007
posted by ZenMasterThis at 6:13 PM on May 30, 2007
I feel like such a pussy now. I had an upper wisdom tooth pulled just yesterday, and despite the lidocaine, skill level of my dentist (it only took him about two minutes to remove the tooth), and the Vicodin prescription, had me sweating bullets.
posted by Devils Slide at 6:24 PM on May 30, 2007
posted by Devils Slide at 6:24 PM on May 30, 2007
Nope. Clove oil.</i.
Clove oil is amazing stuff. My fancy new-world dentist uses it, before plunging in the pharmaceutical stuff, just so I don't feel the needle. Most considerate dentist I've ever had.
Now clove oil instead of the pharm stuff, hmm...
posted by dreamsign at 6:43 PM on May 30, 2007
Clove oil is amazing stuff. My fancy new-world dentist uses it, before plunging in the pharmaceutical stuff, just so I don't feel the needle. Most considerate dentist I've ever had.
Now clove oil instead of the pharm stuff, hmm...
posted by dreamsign at 6:43 PM on May 30, 2007
Really? No one thinks it's interesting that out of a billion people on the subcontinent, I happen to know that exact street dentist? Because it really blew my mind.
posted by bookish at 7:44 AM on May 31, 2007
posted by bookish at 7:44 AM on May 31, 2007
I guess people just thought you were kidding, or lying, or crazy. But I always believed in you.
posted by hermitosis at 7:46 AM on May 31, 2007
posted by hermitosis at 7:46 AM on May 31, 2007
Yup, only half were in India, the other half in China.
When I went to a street dentist in India, Dharmsala to be exact, when a molar cracked in half. He gave me the best filling I've ever had *in my life*. He told me to close my eyes because the fumes would sting when molded the shape. It was made of the plastic used for making dentures, so it was bubblegum pink (a molar in the back but still pretty funny looking, though it always made me smile to think of it.) That sucker had to be jack-hammered out of my head when a NYC dentist years later convinced me many years later I needed a 'proper filling', which promptly fell out/off.
For the most part street dentists in India are for pulling teeth, not dental surgery. And pulling teeth is a pliars kind of job in any case.
posted by nickyskye at 4:32 PM on May 31, 2007
When I went to a street dentist in India, Dharmsala to be exact, when a molar cracked in half. He gave me the best filling I've ever had *in my life*. He told me to close my eyes because the fumes would sting when molded the shape. It was made of the plastic used for making dentures, so it was bubblegum pink (a molar in the back but still pretty funny looking, though it always made me smile to think of it.) That sucker had to be jack-hammered out of my head when a NYC dentist years later convinced me many years later I needed a 'proper filling', which promptly fell out/off.
For the most part street dentists in India are for pulling teeth, not dental surgery. And pulling teeth is a pliars kind of job in any case.
posted by nickyskye at 4:32 PM on May 31, 2007
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posted by jonson at 12:14 PM on May 30, 2007