Table 2.

Summary characteristics table of qualitative studies.

First Author, Pub. Year (Ref.)	Study Population (Which Countries Included as South Asian)	The Country the Study Was Conducted in (South Asians Were Migrants or Ethnic Group Within This Region, State or Country) and Period of Data Collection	Number of Adults in the Sample. Stratified by South Asian Region and Age Group	Methodology	Aim of the Study	The Outcome That the Study Was Assessing and Whether They Stratified by Asian Status	Brief Description of Differences of What They Found Between the South Asian Groups Studied
Williams 1988 [24]	Bangladeshi and Pakistani as South Asians	London, April–June 1987	N = 100 total N = 50 Bangladeshi N = 50 Pakistani Age group—not mentioned	Interviews with 20 focus groups with 5 mothers in each.	To explore the ways to improve the consumption of dental services by Muslim mothers from Bangladesh and Pakistan.	Awareness regarding the availability of services, barriers to the use of services, and establish possible ways to improve the availability of services for Muslim mothers in the UK. Results not described according to the country of birth.	Muslim mothers were well aware of the services available. Presence of a symptom was a requisite for the majority of mothers to visit a dentist and less than half recognized the significance of a regular check-up. Visiting a dentist was not the priority for Muslim mothers. Fear, lack of trust, and communication difficulties were identified as potential barriers to the uptake of services. Preference for female dentists was highlighted by the mothers. Lack of required knowledge regarding oral health was prevalent in all the groups. An absence of cultural sensitivity was emphasized.
Newton 2001 [25]	Out of seven ethnic groups they included, Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi as South Asians	South Thames region, UK	N =193 total N = 3 Pakistani groups N = 4 Indian groups N = 5 Bangladeshi groups. Age group—not mentioned	28 focus group interviews with each representing a particular ethnic group.	Identification of barriers for the utilization of dental services among various ethnic group residing in the UK through a qualitative approach.	Discussion and presentation of views around various pre-identified barriers such as language, trust, cost, anxiety, and cultural issues between various ethnic groups.	Language stated as a major barrier by nearly half of the participants from Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Indian origin. Bangladeshi and Pakistani participants recommended that translation facilities should be available as one of the strategies for improving the uptake of services. Lack of trust for the dentist was cited as a major issue by Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Indian participants. The cost was also stressed but to a lesser extent, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Indian participants demanded a change in the payment system. Preference for a woman dentist was observed among Bangladeshi women. Lack of cultural sensitivity by the dentist was mentioned by Indian participants. Concerns of hygiene were identified only by Pakistani and Chinese/Vietnamese groups.
Croucher 2006 [23]	Out of three, Indian and Bangladeshi as South Asians	East London, July–August 2001	N = 68 total N = 9 Indian N = 13 Bangladeshi Age group = 18–40	Rapid participatory approach, 12 focus groups who had in-depth discussions	To ascertain and compare the barriers for the use of dental services by adults in specific ethnic groups vs. the general population	Insights regarding the structure of dental care, barriers to use services, and proposals to improve access by the ethnic groups who conversed.	The long waiting list, dentist being overworked, and lengthy treatments were acknowledged by Indians whereas distance to access a dentist was acknowledged by Bangladeshi. Cost and lack of knowledge of average prices of various treatments were the other concerns specified by Indians. Dentist of the same gender was not a great requirement by an Indian woman as compared to a Bangladeshi woman. Recommendation of staff having training in local community languages was quoted by a Bangladeshi woman. Perception of “clean practice” was prevalent among the participants. Having whiskey was preferred than visiting a dentist by an Indian man to ease the dental pain.
Riggs 2014 [14]	Pakistani as South Asians	Australia	N = 115 total N = 3 focus groups (20) Pakistani. Individual interviews with 4 Pakistani women. Age group—not mentioned	Participatory research approach focus group (11) and individual (7) in-depth interviews.	To present the experiences detailed by Iraqi, Lebanese, and Pakistani women in dental service utilization for themselves and their children in Melbourne, Australia.	Iraqi, Lebanese, and Pakistani women were interviewed in depth for their experiences and barriers in accessing dental services in Melbourne. Participants were further probed for their oral health behaviors.	The majority did not access dentists for preventive purposes but only for treatment. Pakistani women preferred to pursue treatments in Pakistan as they believe the service would be provided by a qualified doctor at cheaper prices and there would be no language barriers. Pakistani perceive the restorative treatments as more expensive, so were more inclined to extractions. Lack of knowledge of the type of oral hygiene aid was evident as miswak was still used by some of the participants. Pakistani women felt being judged on the basis of their culture and country of origin. Halal certification was stated as one of the prerequisites for the health professional to treat them.
Lamb 2009 [15]	Afghanistan refugees as South Asians	Australia, July–August 2001.	N = 8 total Age group > 20 years	Semi-structured in-depth interviews	To describe the oral health understandings presented by the group of Afghan refugees.	Group of Afghan refugees were questioned for their views on oral health risk factors, the motivation for oral care, access to a dentist, pain management, and oral health education.	Numerous risk factors for oral health were acknowledged among refugees like smoking chelam, sucking naswar, breaking nuts, and stress of survival. Oral hygiene was stated as a requirement for religious purposes with some mentioned using miswak three times a day. Different oral hygiene aids were used by the study population such as salt, fingers, toothpaste, and toothbrush. Home remedies (cloves, aspirin yeast, takhak, salt water rinse) were preferred more to ease pain then to visit a dentist. Hazaras were also found to carry out extractions by themselves under unhygienic conditions. The existence of belief that the filling does not work was found.