Discipline and distinction: sociology, consumerism and oral health

Objective: To conduct a secondary analysis of existing qualitative data from the perspective of the sociology of the body and consumerism. Methods: Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with a convenience sample of 80 adults. In the primary study participants were asked to rate their oral health and explain the reasons for their ratings. Interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed in full and subjected to a secondary data analysis exploring the relevance of the sociology of the body and consumerism to understanding the mouth and oral health. Results: The data indicate the relevance of a range of central themes from the sociology of the body that can help expand the understanding of oral health. Particularly important themes included the internalization of the dental discipline both personally and through family relations. In this respect people appeared to be co-opted into the discipline very much in keeping with previous analyses of oral care regimes and the mouth. Such practices often occurred against a background ‘vibrant physicality' were oral practices operated in harmony with regimes of discipline and control over the body as a whole. These major themes were articulated though specific practices that were sustained to varying degrees in everyday life. Oral health was therefore an ongoing process of making and sustaining the mouth on a daily basis. Added to such themes were a series of observations associated with consumerism and the mouth. In this respect oral health could act as a source of social distinction, advantage, stigma or indeed superficiality. Conclusions: There is much to be gained from expanding the understanding of oral health through the application of a range of themes derived from the sociology of the body and consumerism.