Where There Is No Dentist

by Murray Dickson

Where There Is No Dentist is a companion volume to the village health care handbook, Where There Is No Doctor Together, the books encourage people to take the lead in caring for their own health. This approach to health care implies respect for the dignity of all persons, as well as confidence in their resourcefulness.

Village health workers can use this book to help people care for their teeth and gums. Health workers begin with the felt needs of the people--treating the dental problems they have now. Then they work to prevent the same problems from returning.

Thus, Where There Is No Dentist shows how to diagnose and treat dental problems and also suggests new ways to work for better dental health in the community.

Genres: Survival, Health, Reference, Nonfiction, Medical, Medicine, Science

248 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1983

Reviews

[Joe Krakovsky]

WHERE THERE IS NO DENTIST is a great reference book for Dr. Mom. My dentist would probably laugh and shake his head at some of the things covered here, but he is a pretty cool guy. Other dentists would be up in arms, but then they aren't giving aid to poor folk who are used to seeing militia men strolling about toting AK-47s. This book, and others like it, were published by the Hesperian Foundation. As illustrated on the cover, this is a manual for aid workers in Third World countries that lacked the barest of modern health care.

I learned a lot about the mouth, teeth and the care of teeth and gums from this book which reads like a children's book. It is richly illustrated with drawings and photographs. Included are suggestions for teaching people how to care for their teeth. An aid worker could use this book to give emergency aid. Examples are given from case histories. Some self taught dental workers have pulled teeth, placed fillings, and performed root canals.

Instructions are given on sanitation and sterility procedures as well as how to make one's own dental instruments such as a probe made from a paperclip, glue and a stick, or a mirror made of a shiny piece of tin glued to a stick. Don't laugh. US servicemen found out the hard way what the Vietcong could make into deadly weapons using trash from US bases.

This is a great reference book for a survival library but in the meantime I will continue to use my dentist.

[Isaac]

Again very 3rd world focused and spends a huge amount of pages on basic hygiene that will be common knowledge for 1st world readers. Nonetheless provides a good overview of basic teeth repairs. In a pinch, given the right tools, I bet I squint at the illustrations and successfully remove a tooth. I would have preferred more pictures, and color. 8/10

[Jason]

The practical portion is crowded by the public health portion - this feels like it would make a great appendix to Where There is No Doctor. Puppet shows are nice but not really what I bought this book for.

[Troy]

Very great resource for those who want to be self sufficient and prepared.

[Konrad]

Solid content for a broad range of dental interventions in contexts with relatively low resource and technology access. It would have likely been more beneficial to include the community outreach, education, and craft activities in a separate section, despite the fact that this book is geared towards dentists doing precisely this work in addition to their immediate medical duties.

"Do not attack a belief because it is traditional. Many traditions are more healthy than ‘modern’ things."

[wolfe]

this book is totally brilliant.

[Joshua Friesen]

Yes. Good knowledge to have in an emergency. Well presented.