Roadside Dentistry in India

Thankfully here in the UK we are  lucky enough to be able to afford an extremely good level of dental healthcare, unlike many other countries.

Take India, for example, where roadside dentistry is commonplace, with roadside dentists having no degree or formal qualifications, only the experience they have learned by practicing on their patients and performing in unsuitable and unsterile conditions. Check out this incredible picture below from an NBC photoblog on roadside dentistry.



In contrast, to become a Dentist in the UK you will have to undertake four years formal lecturing and the final year will be spent at general dental practices and hospitals.

As a Clinical Dental Technician, I have had to undertake many years of training and completed a four year training program with many hours of intense training in the following fields - oral pathology, microbiology and infection control, orofacial anatomy, periodontology (gum disease treatments), radiographic recognition, prosthodontics theory and clinical practice.

All dental professionals are regulated by the British Dental Association (BDA)  and all dental work in the UK must be undertaken in a sterile clinical environment to professional guidelines to help ensure that the healing process is as quick as possible.

So when you visit your dentist to have any dental treatment or when you are having new dentures fitted, it's worth remembering that a lot of professional knowledge goes into your individual treatment.

If you would like to help with the dental health care of people in India you can make an online payment to the The Lifeline Express - a hospital train which provides poor and underpriviledged in India with free healthcare and dental care.