Nepal; street of dentists, Kathmandu 1986. In 1982, there were 17 government-trained dental surgeons in Nepal, some of whom practised in this street. For those too fearful or who could not afford to visit one of these surgeries, a nearby shrine was dedicated to Vaisha Dev, the god of toothache. Surrounding the god was a plank of wood into which thousands of nails had been driven. Planting a nail was believed to get rid of toothache by pinning down all evil spirits and influences.
- Carole Reeves
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: Nepal; street of dentists, Kathmandu 1986. In 1982, there were 17 government-trained dental surgeons in Nepal, some of whom practised in this street. For those too fearful or who could not afford to visit one of these surgeries, a nearby shrine was dedicated to Vaisha Dev, the god of toothache. Surrounding the god was a plank of wood into which thousands of nails had been driven. Planting a nail was believed to get rid of toothache by pinning down all evil spirits and influences. Carole Reeves. Source: Wellcome Collection.
