Madhur Mrinal¹, Sarbjeet Khurana², Mehak Segan³, Rajeev Janardan⁴ and PK Upadhyay⁵*

¹PhD Candidate (HS), School of Medical and Health Sciences, Bangor University, Wales, UK
²Head, Department of Epidemiology, IHBAS, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
³Assistant Professor, Amity Institute of Public Health (AIPH), AUUP, India
⁴Dean Research, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, AP, Former Head, AIPH, AUUP, India
⁵Expert Maxillary/Mandibular Surgeon as Head of Neurosurgery Department, Ihbas, University of Delhi, India

*Corresponding Author: PK Upadhyay, Expert Maxillary/Mandibular Surgeon as Head of Neurosurgery Department, Ihbas, University of Delhi, India.

Received: July 11, 2022; Published: August 04, 2022

Abstract

An ethnographic study of folk dentists was conducted in Delhi. Ten case studies of folk dentists and their patients were analysed for various domains of content analysis (CA). Data were collected through mixed method of data collection with some basic research questions guide for the folk dentists and patients during the COVID-19 partial lockdown period in Delhi. The CA for primary cases, secondary cases and for patients was analysed for various domains. Results reveal various aspects of their practices and issues on roadside assets in clinic, health and hygiene, family traditions, pride in work, income/economics, duration of their practices and uncertainties. Similarly, patients were analysed for their views on cheap services, health and hygiene, easy approachability, folk experiences and quality of services. The researchers illuminated the policy issues of folk or traditional dentists practicing in a metropolitan city and their patients’ perspectives for their dental public health concerns and have made some recommendations to their salient voice.

Keywords: Dental Public Health; Ethnography; Folk Dentistry; Roadside Dentists

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Citation

Citation: PK Upadhyay., et al. “An Ethnographic/Epidemiological Study of Folk Dentists Plight in Present Scenario”.Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 6.9 (2022): 24-36.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2022 PK Upadhyay., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.