Dr. Pallavi's presentation on social science and oral health

Social Science
and
oral health
By: Dr.Pallavi Divekar
Post graduate student
Dept of Public Health Dentistry
Guided by:
Professors of dept. of Public health dentistry

Contents
• Introduction
• Terminologies
• Social science components
• Sociology
• Psychology
• Social organizations
• Religion & Caste
• Occupation
• Socioeconomic status & scales
3

Contents
• Social classes
• Traditional cultural and ritual practices involving the
teeth and orofacial soft tissues
• Common Myths and Taboos related to Dentistry:
• Public health significance
• References
4

Introduction
• Man is a social animal it is difficult to isolate health
from the social context.
• Social, economic and cultural factors have as much
influence on health as medical interventions.
5

Introduction
• Social environment is an important as the physical and
biological environment in relation to health and disease in
man.
• The effect of social environment on health is clearly reflected
in the differences in disease patterns of rural versus urban and
developing versus developed countries.
6

T
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1. SOCIETY: Society is a group of individuals who have organized themselves
and follow a given way of life.
2. RURAL SOCIETIES: This comprises of the population living in the villages.
The villages are self sufficient units for most of the routine requirements of its
people.
3. URBAN SOCIETIES: Towns and cities comprise the urban societies. They are
relatively large, dense and permanent settlements of people.
4. FAMILY: The family is a primary unit in all societies. It is a group of
biologically related individuals living together and eating from a common
kitchen.
5. COMMUNITY: A community is a social group determined by geographical
boundaries and/or common values and interests.
8

6. SOCIALIZATION: It is the process by which an individual gradually
acquires culture and becomes a member of the social group.
7. MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY: It is a specialization within the field of sociology.
Its main interest is in the study of health, health behaviour and medical
institutions.
8. SOCIOLOGY: Sociology deals with the study of human relationships and of
human behaviour for a better understanding of the pattern of human life.
Sociology is the study of individuals as well as groups in a society.
9. EDUCATION: It measures the inculcation of values, knowledge and
achievements of an individual.
T
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10. SOCIAL STRATIFICATION: Social stratification is a kind of social differentiation
whereby members of society are grouped into socioeconomic strata, based upon their
occupation and income, wealth and social status, or derived power.
11. SOCIAL STRUCTURE: Social structure refers to the pattern of inter relations
between persons. Every society has a social structure- a complex of major institutions,
groups, power structure and status heirarchy.
12. SOCIAL MOBILITY: Indian society is rigidly based on caste system. There is little
social mobility, i.e., people do not change their caste or religion. In other words, Indian
society is a "closed-class" system.
13. SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS: It has been defined as the position that an individual
or family occupies with reference to the prevailing average standards of cultural and
material possessions, income and participation in group activity of the community.
T
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A brief sketch of the current interest of
these disciplines in social science is given
below :
1. COMMUNITY HEALTH
2. CLINICAL MEDICINE
3. EPIDEMIOLOGY
11

SOCIAL AND BEHAVIOURAL
SCIENCES
12
a. ECONOMICS
b. POLITICAL SCIENCE
c.SOCIOLOGY
d.SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
e.ANTHROPOLOGY

(a) ECONOMICS
• Economics deals with human relationships in the
specific context of production, distribution,
consumption and ownership of scarce resources,
goods and services.
• Sociology and economics overlap in many senses;
both are concerned with interdependence in human
relations.
13

(b) POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Political science is concerned with the study of the
system of laws and institutions which
constitute government of whole societies.
14

WHY IS HEALTH POLITICAL?
• Health is political because, like any other resource or
commodity… some social groups have more of it than
others.
• Health is political because its social determinants are
amenable to political interventions and are thereby
dependent on political action (or more usually, inaction).
• Health is political because the right to ‘a standard of living
adequate for health and wellbeing’ is, or should be, an
aspect of citizenship and a human right.
15

• A continuous democratic political context is
important in developing a wider participation and
ensuring that health systems, policies and programs
are aligned to health and well being of the people
(WHO, 1998; 2000; World Bank, 1994)
• Health ministries need to stimulate wider
participation from individuals, professional groups,
political parties stakeholders, NGOs and
communities to play their role in the implementation
of health policies, programs and projects.
HOW DO WE RESOLVE POLITICAL ISSUES
IN HEALTH CARE?
16

(c) SOCIOLOGY
• Sociology deals with the study of human
relationships and of human behaviour for a better
understanding of the pattern of human life.
• It is also concerned with the effects on the individual
of the ways in which other individuals think and act.
17

(d) SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
• It is concerned with the psychology of individuals
living in human society or groups.
• The emphasis is on understanding the basis of
perception, thought, opinion, attitudes, general
motivation and learning in individuals and how
these vary in human societies and groups.
• It deals with the effect of social environment on
persons, their attitudes and motivations.
18

(e) ANTHROPOLOGY
• Anthropos meaning man and logos meaning science.
19
Anthropology
Physical
Archaeology
Cultural
Linguistic

SOCIOLOGY
• Socios- society, logos- science.
• Society = A group of individuals who have organized
themselves and follow a given way of live.
Features:
▫ System of social relations between the individuals
▫ Behavior of the individual  law and customs.
▫ They exert pressure on the individual to conform to the
norms
20

Society is made up of two components:
A) STRUCTURAL
B) FUNCTIONAL
21

Structural
aspect
Social
institutions
School,
hospitals
Community
Group
determined by
geographical
boundaries or
common values
and interests.
Associations United for a
specific purpose
22

Functional
aspect
Social norms
Folkways
Mores
Taboos
23

SOCIAL NORMS
• Specified rules of conduct
▫ Folkways: customary ways of behavior, not done
out of fear but it is obligatory in the proper
situation. Ex: ways of dressing, eating, greeting.
▫ Mores: are socially acceptable ways of behavior
that involve moral standards.
▫ Taboos: Specific type of mores expressed in
negative.
▫ Laws: important mores are converted into laws to
ensure their implementation.
24

CUSTOMS
• Is abroad term embracing all the norms classified as
folkways or mores.
• It refers to all those practices that have been
repeated by a number of generation.
• They tend to be followed just because they have
been followed in the past.
25

CULTURE
• It is defined as the learned behavior which has
been socially acquired.
• Culture is the product of human societies and man
is a product of his cultural environment.
• Transmitted from one generation to the next
through either formal or informal learning process
26

ACCULTURATION
• Means “cultural contact”
• When there is contact of two people with different types
of culture, there is diffusion of culture both ways.
Ex. The wide spread use of tobacco is because of cultural
contact.
27

Occurs by:
a) Trade and commerce
b) Industrialization
c) Propagation of religion
d) Education
e) Conquest
28

SOCIAL STRESS
Conflict generated by new opportunities and
frustrations arising from societal changes.
Causes of stress:
▫ Migration from rural to urban areas
▫ Diminution of the family support system.
▫ Greater exposure to mass media to ideas that had
been previously culturally alien
▫ Tourism
29

SOCIAL PROBLEMS
• Individual problems become social when they
affect a large no of people amounting to a threat
to the welfare or safety of the whole group.
• Some social problems like poverty, venereal
disease, alcoholism, mental illness, crime,
housing, divorce, population growth, increased
no of old people, have public health implications
calling for combined sociological and public health
action.
30

SOCIAL DEFENSE
• It is a new concept, which covers the entire gamut of
preventive, therapeutic and rehabilitative services for the
protection of society from antisocial, criminals or deviant
conduct of man.
• It includes measures relating to prevention and control of
juvenile delinquency, eradication of beggary, social and
moral hygiene programmes, welfare of prisoners,
elimination of prostitution, control of alcoholism, drug
addiction, gambling and suicides.
31

32
PSYCHOLOGY
• The study of human behavior of how people
behave and why they behave in just the way
they do.
• Knowledge of psychology is essential to know
others and to differentiate between normal and
abnormal; and to promote mental health in
individuals and families.

33
RESPONSES
All forms of behavior are responses to stimuli.
▫ Physical responses: Habits, skills
▫ Organic responses: Emotions, feelings, tensions
▫ Intellectual responses: Perceptions, Thinking,
Reasoning.
Causes:
▫ Environmental stimuli
▫ Emotions and feelings
▫ Needs:
a) Biological
b) Social
c) Economic
d) Ego-integrative
▫ Motivation

34
Incentives:
 Intrinsic
 Extrinsic
 Material
 Psychological
 Self determined or
 Selected by others

35
HABITS
• Accustomed way of doing things.
• Accumulate through generations
appear as customs, which in turn
create habits.
Characteristics:
1.They are acquired by repetition
2.They are automatic
3.Can be performed only under
similar circumstances.

36
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
It is defined as the science of behaviour of the
individual in society.
• Group behaviour (social behaviour)
• Man is a social being. From birth till death, he is
associated with people. He is born in particular
culture which is made up of customs, laws, ideals,
are, literature, crafts, science, technology, and
institutions. All these act on the individual and
influence his social behaviour.

37
SOCIAL INTERACTION
• Interpersonal relationships
• Intergroup relationships
• Group morale:
▫ The leaders of the groups are
responsible for solidarity of the group
behaviour and the morale of the people
in the group.
▫ A group works together and has definite
programs and objectives. They think,
feel and act together. Community
problems are solved by group effort. A
group can be approached via group
discussions.

38
SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
Society is a group of individuals drawn together by
a common bond of nearness and who act together in
general for the achievement of certain common
goals.
▫ Family
▫ Religion and caste
▫ Temporary social groups
▫ Permanent spatial groups
▫ Government and political organizations

39
FAMILY
• It’s the basic unit in all societies.
• It is a group of biologically related
individuals
• As a cultural unit the family reflects the
culture of the wider society
• It is also an epidemiologic unit for providing
social services and comprehensive medical
care.
▫ Family of origin: the family in which one
is born.
▫ Family of procreation: family, which one
sets up after marriage.

40
TYPES OF FAMILIES
• Nuclear family: Elementary family
• Joint families
• Three-generation family

On the basis of marriage family has been
classified into three major types:
• https://www.sociologyguide.com/marriage-family-kinship/Types-of-the-family.php
41

On the basis of nature of the
residence family can be classified into
three main types:
42

On the basis of ancestry or descent family
can be classified into two main types:
43

On the basis of the nature of
authority family can be classified into two
main types:
44

On the basis of size or structure and
generations of family can be classified into
two main types:
45

On the basis of nature of relations among
the family members, the family can be
classified into two main types:
46

47
FAMILY IN HEALTH AND DISEASE
There are certain functions, which are relevant to health and
health behaviour and are important from the medical-
sociology point of view.
▫ Child rearing
▫ Socialization
▫ Personality formation
▫ Care of dependent adults
▫ Stabilization of adult personality
▫ Familial susceptibility to disease
▫ Broken family
▫ Problem families

48
RELIGION AND CASTE
• In India we follow a closed class
system –
• Each caste is governed by
certain rules and sanctions
relating to endogamy, food
taboos, ritual purity, etc.
• In town and cities and industrial
areas…not rigid, there is
considerable intercommunication
and interpersonal relationships not
strictly based on caste hierarchy.

49
CULTURAL FACTORS IN HEALTH AND
DISEASE
• Cultural factors are deeply involved in the affairs of man,
including health and sickness. When a change in behaviour is
involved the resistance of the people is maximum in accepting
new programmes.
Concept of etiology and cure:
▫ Supernatural causes:
 Wrath of gods and goddesses
 Breach of taboo: some people to be responsible for certain
diseases
 Past sins: ex leprosy, TB.
 Evil eye: Children are considered to be most
susceptible,ward off the effects of the evil eye, charms
and amulets are prescribed
 Spirit or ghost intrusion: ex hysteria and epilepsy

50
Physical causes:
▫ The effects of weather
▫ Water: impure water is associated with diseases.
▫ Impure blood: ex skin diseases, boils, and scabies.
Eating neem leaves and flowers is said to purify
blood.
Environmental sanitation:
▫ Disposal of human wastes
▫ Disposal of wastes
▫ Water supply
▫ Housing
▫ Food habits
▫ Personal hygiene

51
MOTHER AND CHILD HEALTH
• Good:
▫ Customs such as breast-feeding, oil bath, massages, and exposure
to sun.
• Bad:
▫ Some foods like meat, eggs, fish, and vegetables are forbidden
during pregnancy.
▫ Use of Untrained local Dias or birth attendants,
▫ Belief that colostrum is harmful.
• Unimportant:
▫ Punching of ears, nose and application of oil or turmeric on the
anterior fontanelle.
• Uncertain:
▫ Application of kajal

52
STRUCTURE OF SOCIETY
• Caste:
▫ Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras supported by
religion
▫ Each caste is governed by its own rules and regulations and
follow a definite occupation
▫ In urban areas the cast system is less rigid
• Income:
▫ Upper
▫ Middle
▫ Lower
• Occupation

53
OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION
• The oldest  Registrar - General's occupational
classification in England and Wales.
• All occupations are classified in to five groups.
Social class III is further subdivided in to non-
manual and manual groups.

54
Examples
I Professional
occupation
Doctor, dentist,
university lecturer,
company secretary
II Intermediate
occupation
Teachers, nurse,
supermarket manager
III Non-manual
skilled occupation
Manual skilled
occupation
Draughtsman, clerk,
policeman,
Plumber, tool maker,
coal miner
IV Partly skilled
occupation
Gardner, store keeper,
postman
V Unskilled
occupations
laborer, kitchen hand,
office cleaner

55
LIMITATIONS OF OCCUPATIONAL
CLASSIFICATION
• Heterogeneous grouping: The people in each social class
differ not only occupationally, but also in respect of
educational status and family background
• Occupational mobility: People sometimes change their
occupations, lead to discrepancies in using social classes
correctly over a period of time.
• Women: There are differences in classifying women
alongside men
If a man describes himself as a secretary, it is a
highly paid occupation; if a woman describes herself as a
secretary, it is usually a position in an office in a low
capacity

It has been defined as the position that an individual or family occupies with
reference to the prevailing average standards of cultural and material
possessions, income and participation in group activity of the community.
Socioeconomic status
• Identification and classification of socioeconomic variables.
• Each classification and scale has its own strength and inadequacy.
• Occupation, income, and education are the key variables.
Singh T, Sharma S, Nagesh S. Socio-economic status scales updated for 2017. Int J Res Med Sci 2017;5:3264-7.
56

KUPPUSWAMY SCALE
57

S C TIWARI SCALE
58

UDAY PAREEK SCALE
Wani RT. Socioeconomic status scales-modified Kuppuswamy
and Udai Pareekh's scale updated for 2019. J Family Med Prim
Care 2019;8:1846-9.
59

60

61
SOCIAL STATUS
It is a position, which a person occupies within
the social system.
• Types:
▫ Ascribed/ inherited–determined at birth
such as sex or caste.
▫ Achieved status – is one which is gained
during the life time, may be based on
occupation
▫ Closed caste system
▫ Open system  class system

62
OTHER MEASURES OF SOCIAL
DIFFERENTIATION
• Education
• Income
• Purchasing power
• Religion
• Rural and Urban

63
• Income, occupation and education…positively correlated
with health status.
• Upper social classes…longer life expectancy, less
mortality and a better health and nutritional status.
• Diseases also have been shown to affect people at various
social levels differently.
▫ Lifestyle Related Diseases-high incidence in social
class
▫ Diseases of skin, eye and ears, diarrhea and dysentery-
lower classes, which can be ascribed to the poor state
of physical environment in which they live.

64
Social class differences in:
▫ Mental illness, infant mortality, general mortality,
maternal mortality.
▫ In the family structure, and utilization of medical
and health services.

65
FACTORS INVOLVED IN SOCIAL CLASS
DIFFERENCES IN HEALTH AND DISEASE
• Physical environment
• Differences in services provided.
• Material resources
• Genetic endowment
• Educational status
• Attitude to Disease
The aim of preventive medicine should be to reduce the
social class differences in health and disease.

INEQUALITIES IN SOCIAL HEALTH
Black Report (1980)…
1. Artefact explanation: Reassignment to a more
affluent class of some poor members…who are in
better health.
2. Natural and Social Selection Explanation: Health
determines social status…poor people move down
social ladder.
3. Cultural/ Behavioural Explanations: people from
low strata…unhealthy behaviour…cigarette
smoking, tobacco chewing…compromised health
4. Material or Structuralist Explanation: external
conditions…poor housing, dangerous occupations,
unemployment etc.
66

67
SOCIAL SECURITY
• Social security is defined as that "security that society
furnishes through appropriate organization, against
certain risks to which its members are exposed".
• The risks which social security covers in most countries are
sickness, invalidity, maternity, old age and death.
• Social security also includes social insurance and social
assistance.

68
SOCIAL CLASSES
The upper middle class:
• Professional and business executive group, well
educated,
• The members of this class seek out expert advice
• They value their teeth and are interested in preventive
dentistry and actively pursue various types of dental
care.
• The dentist is visualized as a professional who not only
repairs teeth and stops pain but also prevents decay and
loss of teeth and make a person’s teeth attractive and
useful
• They desire to have their own teeth for as long a
possible

69
THE LOWER MIDDLE CLASS
• Owners of small businesses, minor executives, teachers,
salesmen, and white collared workers.
• Highly moralistic group
• Most compulsive in their dental care attitudes and practices
of any social class.
• The dentist is regarded as an authority figure- not always a
friendly authority but some one who fixes teeth
• The dentist is also viewed as one who give directions as to
how teeth should be care for and who is useful in
preventive dentistry.

70
THE UPPER LOWER CLASS
• They are generally skilled and semiskilled blue-
collared workers.
• They are people of limited education.
• They are law abiding, respectable and hard
working.
• They set fewer regulations for themselves and are
indulgent of themselves and permissive of their
children

• They are resigned to whatever happens and feel there
is little they can do to ‘ stave off the inevitable’
including loss of teeth.
• They acquire artificial teeth at a very early age and are
reasonably happy with them.
• They do not have continuing personal relations with
the dentist or physician.
• As a group these people are often happier receiving
their care form a clinic rather than form an individual
practitioner.
71

72
THE LOWER CLASS
• Underprivileged or disadvantaged consists of
unskilled labourers, people who shift form job to job.
• Have a limited education, live in slum areas and
exhibit no stable pattern of life.
• They are the ones who reveal the most consistent
neglect of teeth and require careful understanding if
they are to receive adequate health in dental public
health facilities

73
TRADITIONAL CULTURAL AND RITUAL
PRACTICES INVOLVING THE TEETH AND
OROFACIAL SOFT TISSUES.
Tooth mutilations include:
▫ Non therapeutic tooth extractions
▫ Breaking of the teeth at the neck of the crowns
▫ Alterations in the shape of the teeth by filing or
chipping
▫ Dental inlay work
▫ Lacquering and staining of teeth

74
REASONS FOR TOOTH MUTILATIONS
▫ Tribal identification
▫ Initiation rite
▫ A sign of manhood or bravery
▫ Identification with a tribal totem
▫ Differentiation of a person from an animal
▫ Local superstitions that during sleep the soul
departs and re-enters the body via the mouth –
hence need to remove anterior teeth
▫ To enable an individual to spit properly
▫ Sign of marriageable age in females

TOOTH AVULSION…
• It is the deliberate removal of the tooth for ritual or
traditional purpose.
• Reasons include---
1. Tribal identification.
2. Sign of bravery.
3. Differentiation of Sex.
4. Aesthetics and fashion.
5. Form of punishment.
6. To signify the marital status.
7. To facilitate the use of blow pipe.
75

8. Sign of ceremonial rebirth.
• Geographical distribution– In Africa ,Uganda,
Tanzania, Sudan and Nigeria. Australian
aboriginal tribes. Hawaiian islands, South and
Central America.
• Teeth avulsed commonly include the anterior
segment of both the jaws. Usually teeth
extracted are the permanent central incisors.
Occasionally, the canines are also extracted.
• Tooth avulsion is usually done during late
childhood to teenage years.
• In some cultures, it is associated with puberty,
marriage or first menstruation.
76

Decorative dental inlays and crown
• Carried out for the purpose of –
1. Beautifications.
2. To signify wealth.
3. To signify some other event.
• Inlay materials used were hematite, jade, turquoise, gold, pearls, etc.
• In India, the anterior teeth of the Maharajas were inlaid with glass and
pearls.
• In Muslims , gold crowns on the anterior tooth indicate the visit to
Mecca.
78

DECORATIVE CROWNS…
79
GOLD CROWNS

Adornment of teeth by the use of jewels….
• Diamond studded
canine
• Other designs used
81

Lacquering and dyeing of the teeth
• In Japan, teeth blackening
signifies marriage, fidelity.
• Courtesans do it for aesthetic
reasons.
• In Bangladesh, it is done along
with ornamentation to woo
females.
• In Vietnam, it is done for
Cosmetic Reasons.
• Jivaru Indians - prevent caries.
• Mayan Juvaro women-Red stains-
Aesthetic purposes.
82

• In Gujarat, dyeing of the
teeth is done by using
resins from insect infested
peepal trees.
• Dyeing of the teeth is
done by chewing the
leaves or bark of plant.
• The process of lacquering
the teeth is –
Etching of the enamel
surface.
Application of lacquering
agents.
83

84
TOBACCO HABITS
• Worldwide distribution  Spanish and Portuguese
introduced the plant to the world in the late 15th century.
• Three main tobacco habits are encountered
▫ Tobacco smoking
 Cigarette:
 Bidi of India
 Cigar
 Hand made chutta cigars of India  reverse
smoking
 Pipe
 Chillum or sulpa – India
 Hookah, waterpipe – middle east
▫ Tobacco chewing
▫ Tobacco snuff

85
BETEL AND OTHER ARECA-NUT HABITS
• The custom of chewing betel is an ancient one extending
back in time to at least several centuries BC.
• Betel  mixture of ingredients wrapped in betel leaf
(pan). This bolus is then placed in the mouth and then
chewed
• The principle ingredients necessary for the betel are:
▫ The areca nut
▫ Parts of betel cine
▫ Lime
▫ Stimulants like catechu, cocaine, tobacco may be
added.
▫ Flavoring agents like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger,
cloves

86
• Reasons for betel nut chewing:
▫ Stimulant or euphoric action.
▫ The property of saliva stimulation.
▫ Aiding in digestion.
▫ Satisfaction of hunger.
▫ Strengthening effect on the gums.
▫ Social traditions especially in India.
• Uses of areca nut in India:
▫ For mastication.
▫ As a religious offering.
▫ As a payment (dakshina) to priests and others.
▫ As part of ceremonies involving contractual negotiations.
▫ As a sign of respect or regard.

Alteration of the tooth crown by FILING OF THE
TEETH…
• Alteration of the shape of the tooth crown. (Canine to
Canine)
• Geographical distribution ---- Africa, Central and South
America.
• Reasons for altering the shape of the teeth---
1. Religious motives.
2. Aesthetics.
3. Tribal identification.
• No. and type of the teeth involved – Anterior teeth are
commonly filed, cusps of premolars and molars are
removed.
87

SHARPLY POINTED CONICAL
RESIDUAL TOOTH SHAPES
88

• Chipping of the
incisal edges
• Horizontal
flattening of the
incisal edge
89

91
TATTOOING
• It is done generally on the lip and gingiva.
• The technique involves painting the lip with a
layer of pigmented material (like Carbon) which
is the impregnated into the mucosa by means of
sharp needles which pierce the mucosa.

92
OTHER FORMS OF SOFTTISSUE MUTILATION
• Piercing of the lips and peri-oral soft tissue
and the insertion of materials such as wood,
metal or ivory.
• Temporary piercing of the oro-facial soft
tissues for ceremonial purposes.
• Uvulectomy.
• A state of apparently self-induced trance
(thapasyam),in which piercing of the skin is
done with sharp weight bearing hoops and
rods.
• There is no sign of experiencing pain and
the wounds do not bleed either.

93
PIERCING OF THE
SOFT TISSUES OF
THE MOUTH
DURING
CULTURAL
FESTIVALS

94
FACIAL SCARRING
• It done for the purpose of –
1. Tribal identity.
2. Aesthetics.
3. Enhance sexual appeal.
4. Indicates the status.
5. To signify the events like
puberty, marriage.

Harmful cultural beliefs
• Alum rinses help the gum become stronger
• Chewing tobacco strengthen the teeth and gums.
• Diarrhea in children during primary dentition is
normal phenomena.
• Offering betel leaf or pan is away of showing that
visitor is welcome.
95

• Our ancestors related miracle cure of toothache
to worship sun.
• The tooth of man who died in violence was
consider cure of toothache.
Taboos in other countries
• In some tribes in Africa, a baby born with
prenatal teeth believed to be a threat to tribe.
• space between teeth would not lead to good
singer
96

Cultural oral hygiene aids
• Common salt
• Mishri
• Charcoal powder
• Fine sand
• Alum powder
• Twig of neem, babul or mango
97

98
OTHER ORAL HYGIENE AIDS
• The teeth can be cleaned with a variety
of powders.
• Abrasive substances like powdered
charcoal, plant ash, silicaceous
mixtures, cow droppings.

Common Myths and Taboos related to
Dentistry:
• Ø Extraction of upper teeth causes loss of eyesight.
• Ø Scaling causes loosening of teeth.
• Ø Dental procedures are always painful.
• Ø Females don't go to male dentist for treatment.
• Ø Laal Dant Manjan powder is better than toothpaste for brushing of teeth.
• Ø Improper brushing is the only cause for bad breath.
• Ø Not to visit a dentist during fasting.
• Ø No need of visiting a dentist if there is no signiﬁcant problem with the
teeth.
• Ø Upper caste people don't go to lower caste dentists for treatment, with
the fear of their religion getting spoiled.
• Ø Presence of teeth at birth (natal teeth) is harmful to grandparents.
• Ø Milk teeth need not be taken care as they will anyhow be replaced by
permanent teeth.
• Ø Wisdom teeth are associated with human intelligence.
99

• Ø Teeth should be buried post-extraction.
• Ø It is better not to brush the teeth when the gums bleed. Ø Tooth
pain subsides on keeping tobacco beside the painful tooth.
• Ø Prosthetic teeth consists of natural teeth of other persons.
• Ø Pregnant female should avoid dental procedures completely. Ø
Brushing once daily is suﬃcient for maintaining good oral hygiene.
• Ø Spacing between front teeth is considered lucky.
• Ø There is worm inside a decayed tooth that needs be pulled out to
save the tooth.
• Ø Staining of teeth is caused due to eating of brinjals. They blacken
the teeth.
• Ø Blowing of worms will prevent caries.
• Ø Teeth are blackened to prevent caries.
• Ø Cloves and supari is used to reduce tooth pain.
100

• Ø Forwardly placed teeth are considered lucky.
• Ø Fallen teeth of the child are thrown on the roof of the house in the
presence of squirrel that leads to eruption of healthy permanent
tooth. Squirrel takes the deciduous tooth and returns a new
permanent tooth.
• Ø Hard and vigorous brushing is the only way to clean the teeth.
• Ø Gold crown in front tooth indicates that the person has visited
Mecca.
• Ø Zandu balm relieves tooth ache.
• Ø Alum or slaked lime provides relief from mouth ulcers.
• Ø Swelling in the mouth is subsided by application of hot
fermentation.
• Ø Teeth become stronger when cleaned with neem stick or salt.
• Ø A child becomes a witch if born with teeth.
101

Public Health Significance
• Anthropology, economics, political science,
psychology, sociology etc. In general, these
disciplines contribute to our understanding of society
and human behaviour.
• The social sciences relevant to medicine are
psychology and sociology. They should be considered
like anatomy and physiology, the basic sciences of
medicine.
102

• Human behaviour is determined not merely by
biological and physical environmental factors but
also by social factors.
• Every form of human behaviour has a social
component. Sociologists are interested in the study of
the social determinants of human behaviour.
• In the final analysis it may be stated that the aim of
sociology is to search for the pattern of relationships
between people in order to pave the way for the
betterment of individuals in relation to society.
103

Conclusion
• Health cannot be isolated from its social context
• For effective Public health work, organized
community effort is essential, which is dependent on
group behavior
• But to bring any behavioral change understanding of
the behavior is essential.
104

Conclusion
• Oral health or ill health is due to the social context in which
they live.
• Considering behavioural sciences makes our approach more
holistic.
• Its knowledge will help better serve the individual or group
they deal with.
105

References
• Park K. Park’s Textbook of Preventive and social
medicine. Bhanot Publishers; 2015, 23rd ed:pg 668-
709.
• Peter S. Essentials of preventive and community
dentistry.Arya (MEDI) Publication House. 2nd
edition:180-203
• Wani RT. Socioeconomic status scales-modified
Kuppuswamy and Udai Pareekh's scale updated for
2019. J Family Med Prim Care 2019;8:1846-9.
106

• https://www.sociologyguide.com/marriage-family-
kinship/Types-of-the-family.php
• Singh T, Sharma S, Nagesh S. Socio-economic status
scales updated for 2017. Int J Res Med Sci
2017;5:3264-7.
107

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