HOW SOCIAL SCIENCES PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN PUBLIC HEALTH DENTISTRY.

1. SOCIAL SCIENCES AND
DENTISTRY

2. CONTENTS
Sociology
Cultural Anthropology
Social Psychology
Economics
Political Science
INTRODUCTION 1
SOCIAL SCIENCES 2
HEALTH BEHAVIOUR AND LIFESTYLE 3
SOCIAL SCIENCES AND
DENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH 4
SUMMARY 5

3. Fill….in….the….blanks
MAN IS A
--------------------
ANIMAL
SOCIAL

4. INTRODUCTION
Social environment is as important as the
physical and biological environment in relation
to health and disease in man.
PHYSICAL
ENVIRONMENT
BIOLOGICAL
ENVIRONMENT SOCIAL
ENVIRONMENT

5. EFFECT OF SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
HOSTEL Vs. HOME

7. SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
Complex of psychosocial factors influencing the
health of the individual and community.

8. BRANCHES
0
2
CULTURAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
0
5
0
1
SOCIOLOGY
0
4
ECONOMICS
0
3
SOCIAL
PSYCHOLOGY
POLITICAL
SCIENCE

9. Science concerned with the organization or
structure of social groups.
DEFINITION
“a system of uses and procedures of authority and
mutual aid of many groups coupled with division
of control of human behaviour and liberty”

10. HUMANS Vs ANIMALS
Even though animals live in groups
we differ from them in one component

11. An art of adding experience.
Man learns from experience .
Works in the shadow of the past for a better tomorrow.

12. Structural aspects of society
Social institutions - it is a social structure and
machinery through which human society
organizes, directs and executes the multifarious
activities required to satisfy human needs.

13. Community - defined as a group small or
large, living together in such a way that the
members share not one or more specific interests
but rather the basic conditions of a common life.

14. Associations – they are groups of people
united for a specific purpose or a limited
number of purposes and are based on
utilitarian interest.

15. Functional aspects of society
Social norms – The specified rules of conduct
to be followed by the members of a society.

16. Folkways
Customary ways of behaviour
Norms that are not strictly enforced
Not a threat to society
Mores
Norms when broken, go against a society’s basic core values.
Moral significance

17. TABOO
Mores expressed in a negative context
socially repulsive
LAWS
Mores are converted into laws
in order to ensure implementation.

18. HABITS
Personal affair
Bathing daily
CUSTOMS
Broad term involving folkways and norms.
Repeated by generations

19. ETIQUETTES AND CONVENTIONS
SOCIAL VALUES
Etiquette - Choice of proper form for doing something in relation to other people.
Convention – an agreed upon procedure
VALUES – Standards of judgements by
which things and actions are evaluated as
good or bad.
All men are born free and equal.

20. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

21. CULTURE the training and refinement of mind,
tastes and manners, the condition of being thus
trained and refined.
BRANCHES
ETHNOLOGY ARCHEOLOGY LINGUISTICS
SOCIAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
Comparative
study of
cultures.
various aspects
of humans
within past and
present societies
scientific study
of language
studies the cultural and
social aspects of human
communities.

22. SOCIAL
PSYCOLOGY
ECONOMICS
POLITICAL SCIENCE
It studies the effect of social
environment on individual psychology Studies the production, distribution
and consumption of the three basic
essential for his living namely food,
shelter and clothing.
It deals with the constitution, the
government and the laws of the state which
impose some sort of discipline on mans
movements or behaviour.

23. HEALTH BEHAVIOUR AND
LIFESTYLE

24. DIRECT WAYS INDIRECT WAYS
HOW HUMAN BEHAVIOUR AND LIFE STYLE
INFLUENCES HEALTH???
PREVENTIVE AND SELF CARE
BEAHVIOUR
SOCIAL NORMS, CULTURE, ORGANIZATION
AND ENVIRONMENT

25. BEHAVIOUR OR HEALTH RELATED HABITS
WHICH ARE HARMFUL FOR YOU!

26. SMOKING

27. NUTRITION

28. DRUG USE

29. SOCIAL SCIENCE IN DENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH
• Social scientists are called to aid in adapting new health
programmes to existing cultural patterns
• Adds a new dimension to the process of surveying and
evaluation.
• In finding out why effort and effect do not match??
• How well the programme fits with the socio cultural
group with which we are working.

30. BEHAVIOUR SCIENTISTS
CLASSIFICATION OF SOCIAL CLASS
THE UPPER MIDDLE CLASS
• The professional and business executive group, well educated, living in well
maintained homes.
• Seek out expert advice and follow the advice religiously when it comes to health
care.
• They value their teeth and are interested in preventive dentistry and actively
pursue dental care.

31. THE LOWER MIDDLE CLASS
THE UPPER LOWER CLASS
• Includes small business owners, minor executives, teachers, salesman.
• They are highly moralistic group with at least a high school education
• They live in a clean pleasant neighbourhood.
• Most compulsive in dental care attitudes.
• Dentist is regarded as an authority who fixes teeth.
• The necessity to be socially presentable makes for a high standard of dental care
among this status level.
• Generally skilled and semiskilled blue collar workers with limited education.
• The group which needs to become the objective of major educational efforts
regarding dental care.
• They are most accessible to these attempts and offer best possibilities of
behavioural and attitudinal changes.
• They acquire artificial dentures at an early age and are reasonably happy with
them.

32. THE LOWER CLASS
• They are called underprivileged or disadvantaged class.
• Consists of unskilled labourers, people who shift from job to job, limited
education, live in slum areas and exhibit no stable pattern of life.
• Reveal most consistent neglect of teeth.
• They require careful understanding if they are to receive adequate care in public
health facilities.

33. ATTITUDE OF UNDER PRIVILEGED TOWARDS HEALTH
CASTRATION COMPLEX
Reluctance to be at the complete mercy of
health practitioner.
CONTRADICTION OF COMMON SENSE
Continuation of drugs after acute symptoms
have subsided seem to contradict common
sense.
COMING IN CROWDS
Hate to be outnumbered so they tend to come
in crowds, with family and friends

34. THE LAST DITCH EFFORT
Turn to dental treatment only as a last resort after all
individual efforts have failed, thereby challenging the
professionals to salvage from an almost hopeless
situation.
IF IT HURTS, YOU ARE A QUACK
They have a feeling that medical/dental
treatment should be painless and if it hurts,
the doctor doesn’t know what he is doing.
UNCLEAN OR DIRTY FEELING
They feel dental office to be unclean.

35. THE CLINIC WAS BUILT THERE, NOT HERE
When clinics are located at inconvenient places.
“ if you really cared about me you would have
built the hospital or clinic here instead of there”
COLD PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDES
Complain about cold attitude and conduct of
health professionals.
DIFFERENCES IN PAIN THRESHOLD
Pain threshold has wider variations and people
with poor health may have low threshold.

36. COMPLICATION OF THE UNKNOWN
Fear of unknown is accentuated in these
people as there are so many things that are
unknown to them.
THE PILLS DON’T WORK
There is a tendency to expect immediate
results and if the drug fails to do so it is
discontinued.
APPOINTMENTS ARE NOT IMPORTANT
Appointments are not a part of the lives of the
underprivileged so they should be educated
with patience and understanding to keep up
with the appointments.

37. TEETH LOST ANYHOW
They have a feeling that loss of tooth is a natural part of life. So they should be
educated to overcome this fatalistic attitude.
TRADITIONS
Strong and deep seated traditions. To communicate with these people , it is
important that these traditions should be recognized and understood.

38. RECAP
• Social environment plays an important role in
relation to health and disease in man.
• By understanding different social sciences we
can predict the culture of the concerned
community.
• Health behaviour has direct and indirect effects
on health.
• Social scientists are called to aid in programme
planning and evaluation problems.

39. SUGGESTED READING
• 1)Soben Peter. Essentials of Preventive and
Community Dentistry 3rd edition.
• 2)Park, Park’s Textbook of Preventive &Social
Medicine, 22nd Edition, Jabalpur: Banarsidas
Bhanot,2013.

40. THANK YOU