I have seen roadside barbers at work in makeshift " Saloons " with bricks doing the job as rest chairs , air naturally conditioned , and the wall attched with a mirror ( 99 % it's boundary wall ) acting as the dressing table in Guwahati .
I guess the barbers are doing brisk bussiness too ! ![]()
![]()
Guwahati, Thursday, July 24, 2003
CITY
Roadside �dentists� doing brisk but risky business
By A Correspondent
GUWAHATI, July 23 � Cashing in on the misplaced trust of a section of poor patients, roadside �dentists� are doing brisk business in the city. These roadside �dentists� can be found near the treasury office, Meghdoot Bhawan and on the footpaths of Fancy Bazar and Bharalumukh.
Beside performing the dental works, they also clean the ear and earn nearly Rs 500 per day. Talking to this correspondent, Adil, one such �dentist� said that he receives 15 to 20 patients everyday. He has learnt ear and teeth works from his father and believes that he is performing his work quiet well. �Though I have not undergone any such training, my patients are always satisfied and my work is cheaper,� he said.
For washing the syringes and blades, they use the stove of a nearly fast food stall. Rekha Gogoi, one of the patients there said, �I was suffering from intense pain as one my teeth was shaking. I came to this streetside dentist and he cured me. I have faith in him,� she said. Bhubaneswar Barman, a worker of treasury office at Kachari said that he comes here quite often to remove stain from his teeth and filling cavities and is not bothered whether the syringes are washed or not.
The skin in the upper part of body is very soft and just a scratch can damage the diaphragm and make one deaf for life. Moreover, operating in an open space can lead to infection and transmission of the deadly HIV and Hepatitis-B viruses. These virus can be transmitted through blood, said doctors associated with Regional Dental College.
In order to operate a patient, several questions need to be ascertained beforehand and a case history of the patient must be known. A minor mistake can lead to incessant bleeding, doctors further said. Excessive use of manual scaling and cold-cure medicines can cause complete damage to the teeth and can also lead to cancer over a period of time beside ulcer, indigestion and chronic diarrhoea, the doctors further added.
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software
