Street dentists in India: service for the brave and not squeamish

In the Middle Ages, people without a doubt went to pull out teeth to blacksmiths or make bloodletting to barbers. If you think that these times are over, then you should get acquainted with street Indian dentistry. Using improvised, often locksmith tools, "dentists" of the Indian subcontinent provide a wide range of services at a very modest price.

Oddly enough, but in India has no shortage of dentists. There are more than 100 thousand specialists working in the country, which is more than enough, even considering the huge population. But only well-off people can afford the services of clinics and private offices, so street dentists never sit idle.

The installation of the bridge in the clinic will cost at least 10 thousand rupees (10.9 thousand rubles). Street healers will do the same job for just 125 rupees (136 rubles). Despite the ridiculous prices, street dentists do not suffer. Almost every one of them will tell you that they earn great money. Dozens of patients pass through the hands of a good street specialist in a day.

Most of these people have no medical education. There are many of them who once worked as a dentist's assistant and have some idea about the work. Once these people were engaged only in tooth extraction. But now, when the competition is as high as ever, they put fillings, crowns and bridges, and also make false teeth.

Tourists are shocked by street dentistry. Everything happens in a terrible unsanitary environment, and tools and dentures are often laid out on a tablecloth laid on the ground. Among the tools, you can see anything, up to locksmith ticks. Every street dentist certainly has a set of files. They are used to fit the inserted teeth directly into the patient's mouth.

The instruments are disinfected in a basin of boiling water standing on a tourist gas stove. A street dentist rinses his hands with antiseptic or cheap local rum. The same alcoholic drink is used as anesthesia. Before tooth extraction, or other painful manipulation, the patient is poured a full glass. Since the main contingent of street doctors are men, no one complains. Despite such care, patients often lose consciousness from pain.

All the action takes place in front of passers-by, near fast food outlets, shoe and bicycle repair. Since socialization is very developed in India, there are always a lot of onlookers near the working master. They watch the action with interest, sympathize with the client and even give advice to the artisanal dentist. The specialists themselves are also not silent — they constantly entertain patients and others with stories and give useful advice.