Dentistry PhD research ‘a very new area'

Otago Daily Times

06-05-2025

Dentistry PhD student Vaishnavi Yeleswarapu with one of the comics she has created to promote oral health. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN
When Vaishnavi Yeleswarapu tentatively suggested producing a comic book for her PhD in dentistry, she expected an overanimated and colourless frown from her supervisor.
But she was pleasantly surprised by the response.
"They loved it because it's so unique.
"Very few people around the world have done that for dentistry.
"There have been quite a few research papers published on comics on the medical side, but not on the dental side.
"It's a very new area to research on."
Miss Yeleswarapu said the first part of her PhD research involved developing minimally worded digital comics to promote important oral health in a very simple and visual way.
"The aim is to tell people they don't have to spend a lot of money on dental treatment if they take care of their teeth.
"I'm trying to show them how easy it is."
Surprisingly, the comics are geared towards adults in their late teens and early 20s — not children.
"Young people have free dental care here, but people just about the age of 18 are struggling more with their oral healthcare because they no longer have that free dental help.
"And because they are still at a young age and not earning money yet, they are less likely to be able to pay for their private treatments.
"So, that's when I thought, 'OK, that's my target audience'."
The project had since progressed to include all adults, she said.
Each comic "episode" shows people how to brush and floss their teeth properly, shows why it is important and answers questions like 'are electric toothbrushes better than manual tooth brushes?'.
The comics also describe procedures that a dentist might carry out when you are in the chair.
The topics for the comic strips came from a diverse group of people in the community, including refugees and international students, each with various questions about oral health, she said.
"I've tried not to use too many words — just facial expressions instead — to tell the story.
"I kept it minimal, just to make sure that people who find it hard to read, or people who are not very comfortable reading English, would be able to understand the story and get the meaning of what I'm intending to say."
Inspiration for her PhD came from her love of comic books, online webcomics and Japanese anime and manga, Miss Yeleswarapu said.
"Also, during the pandemic, I was actually unemployed for a while and I didn't want to just sit and do nothing.
"So that's when I taught myself how to draw comics.
"Then a friend taught me how to use Photoshop and then I started putting the comics up on my social media page.
"It was strange, because a couple of people I didn't know gave me some really positive feedback and comments on how they loved it.
"And that's how I came up with my research idea for my PhD."
She has now created eight comic strips, and the next step is to get public feedback on them.
Members of the public could contact the University of Otago Dental School to participate, she said.
She hoped her comics would eventually grace the walls of dental surgeries and schools around the country, or even reach a global audience on social media.
Her PhD would be submitted in May 2026, she said.
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