Vol. 6, Issue 3, Part E (2020)

Abstract: The idea of justice used to be retributive and sought to exact the worst of punishments upon convicts. However, with universal human rights, the concept of justice and tenets of humanity have so evolved internationally that they seeks reformation of outlaws and accord basic human dignity to them even during incarceration. Healthcare, inclusive of care for dental hygiene, constitutes an integral part of such human rights but this subject continues to be neglected in a lot of modern prison systems, leading to absolute dereliction of dental care. This study seeks to evaluate the provisions of dental care in Indian prison system through the author’s own experience from volunteering at an Indian jail and a series of interviews of Jail Superintendent, a prison inmate and an NGO dedicated to rehabilitation of prison inmates. It aims to identify the hurdles at providing the full range of dental care facilities in prisons and the solutions to these problems.