Ignoring noisy and curious buses, street dentists, especially Allah Baksh, sink their hands into a patient's mouth to fit a sparkling jagged for $ 12 in the city of Bangalore in India.
With its plastic stool, mirror and showcases of teeth on display, Baksh is among the hundreds of such dentists badly seen by their licensed counterparts in the rapid modernization of India
But the 54-year-old street worker insists that he is providing essential service to tens of millions of poor people who cannot afford a visit to a sterilized clinic.
"There are millions of poor people in this country who cannot pay for expensive dental treatment, " Baksh told AFP among clients of his makeshift clinic where his tools include a large metal file. "We should all have the opportunity to be treated, even if they are poor, and look good and healthy, " he says while mixing pink gum paste with his bare fingers in a teaspoon.
"I know this is not hygienic at all, but if I start using sophisticated tools, the poor man would never come."
Street Dentists of India and other trades are still rooted in their inhabitants
From dentists to shoeshine, hairdressers and chefs, street services are an entrenched part of life in India, especially for the poor.
Baksh never formally trained as a dentist, he was able to learn his skills from his father, who arrived in 1984 for the southern backwater, with a dream now transformed into a regional center of the thriving metropolis.
Together with his younger brother, his son and his nephew, Baksh established his clinic 14 years ago outside a bus stand, where together they make and place dentures for about 20 clients a day.
A complete set of teeth, molded and ready to fit in 30 minutes, costs as little as 800 Rupees, while a single false tooth sells for 50 Rupees. The tools are thoroughly washed with soap and water, but do not disinfect.
Teeth in all shapes and sizes are made in China and in India of dental cement. The soft pink adhesive is molded for gums and teeth that stick inside. Street dentists who say that their work done with the bare hand lasts at least four years.
India passed a law in 1948 that allows licensed dentists only to treat patients, but the vague and outdated language of the legislation on exactly what constitutes a dentist has allowed many unregistered to operate with almost full freedom.
In large cities like New Delhi and Mumbai, the number of street dentists has declined in recent years in the growing awareness of the contraction of HIV / AIDS and other diseases, rising levels of client income and an increase in The dentist graduates.
But they still thrive in smaller cities as well as larger cities, although few perform root canals, fillings or other operations.
Dhoble said 30, 000 graduates join the profession every year, but India still has only one dentist for every 10, 000 inhabitants in urban areas and about 250, 000 in rural areas.
Dhoble called the work of street dentists, who were not worth the risk, despite the lack of ultra-economic services offered by licensed professionals for the poor.
In the crowded neighborhood of Delhi, third-generation dentist Satvinder Singh, 48, shows numerous posters announcing his services are supported around him, along with a multitude of vendors who are pushing to take a little space.
Singh said his profession is slowly dying due to the growth of India's formal dentist industry along with more clients concerned about hygiene.
A few decades ago I used to have 30 clients a day. I barely see two now, and at my age I can't change my profession, Singh said.
Singh said that a few decades ago, merchants from a nearby spice market, the largest in Asia, lined up with their false silver and gold teeth, considered a symbol of class and distinction n. Before, not only the poor, but also the rich visited the street dentists, but now we are belittled, he said.
For his part, Baksh remains firm that he is improving the lives of the poor, and that his family will continue the tradition.
We have hundreds of satisfied customers, who visit us frequently and not only pay us, but give us their blessings .
