Let Me Count Your Teeth!

Soon after I arrived in Kodai, Dr. Adey Bowminn, a pediatric dentist, called to say he would like to come and screen the creche children for dental problems. Together we saw all the children with the help of the creche staff. I acted as secretary and assistant, recording the names for Tamil language practice. It took me a couple of days before I realized when I was told how to spell names that "yel"means "l", "yen" means "n". Adey gave me a crash course in dentistry including distinguishing between staining and cavities, how to do a temporary filling, and how to record findings based on the tooth involved.
Being a former resident of Kodai, he knows lots of people and kindly introduced me to many of them including the general manager of the local 5 star hotel, the Carleton, the medical director of the local private hospital, and the manager of the local boat club. During all this travelling around Kodai, Adey was also trying to teach me Tamil! So now I have "dental Tamil".
"Bottle caries" due to putting little children to bed with a bottle fiiled with something other than water is a big problem in children here (see photos). We are working on a presentation for parents on prevention of this problem and dental care (e.g. brushing) in general. All the creche children receive a toothbrush and and are taught how to brush their teeth at the creches. Adults typically use a branch from the neem tree as a substitue for a brush. Unfortunately this technique tends to destroy the tooth enamel.
We will also be working with a local Tamil dentist who is a protege of Dr. Bowminn's and has agreed to help us with education of the families and treatment of the children. Many parents are reluctant to give permission for treatment because of past traumatic experiences with dentists and traditional health beliefs which dictate the best weather or season for treatment.

Adey and I visited a dentist colleague of his. The following is his fee schedule:
(A rupee is 2.5 cents or 40 rupees to a dollar)
Adult cleaning 250 rupees
Child cleaning 70-100 rupees
Small filling 100 rupees
Big filling 250 rupees
Extraction 60-100 rupees
Xray 50 rupees