RESEARCH SYNTHESIS ON THAI BELIEFS ABOUT THE TEETH FOLLOWING THE EASTERN AND WESTERN CONCEPTS

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to 1) synthesise the research on Thai beliefs about the teeth following the Eastern and Western concepts and 2) evaluate and propose a diagram for Thai beliefs about the teeth following the Eastern and Western concepts. The research method was qualitative research based on systematic synthesis. The research instrument divided the data collection in the research process into four steps: 1) Data collection by adopting documentary research 2) Data analysis stage 3) Data synthesis stage 4) Evaluation and Presentation stage. The research results show that the studies on Thai beliefs about teeth follow Eastern and Western concepts. The selected articles found 27 out of 591 articles were found to match the selected criteria. It revealed that Thai beliefs about the teeth following the Eastern concepts were mainly from Buddhism's concepts and the beliefs about the rite. The Western concepts were primarily from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model and the Health Belief Model (HBM) based on an individual's perception and experience. The synthesis of this article is presented as a diagram. It can be applied to understand social science research. The findings could be explained how religion and rituals passed down from the ancestors have shaped the beliefs of Thai people today. According to Western society, comparing and looking at teeth in science often occurs due to gaining knowledge and experience. Western knowledge, perceptions and experience lead to practice in caring for one's oral and dental health. Finally, gather and pass on the information to family members. The recommendation is to continue quantitative and qualitative research to clarify concepts and theories following the Western and Eastern in explaining Thai beliefs about teeth for further study in Thai studies and social science.