This paper explores oral health self care practices for 45 people living in Dunedin, New Zealand on lower and fixed incomes. The resulting empirically derived model of oral health is highlighted against the mutilating policies of the State towards citizens with little disposable income.
Paper long abstract:
This paper explores oral health self care practices for 45 people living in Dunedin, New Zealand on lower and fixed incomes. The empirically derived model of oral health that the participants responses created was an aspirational ideal whose achievement was blocked by the mutilating policies of the State towards citizens with little disposable income. Participants were well aware of this. My analysis explores the entanglements of agency, technologies and policies within the mouths of citizens by drawing on Julie Park's studies of biotechnologies and well being, and her contributions to the idea of sensuous citizenship.