DENTAL CARE FOR KIDS One of the most ignored segments of dentistry is kid’s care. Dentition of kids is as important as any adult. We see an absolute lack of dental awareness for kids among parents. Even if they know of the problem , very few parents are willing to spare that extra buck for the deciduous teeth of their kids. Every kid has twenty deciduous teeth and all of them are shed at some stage in life and are replaced by permanent dentition. Every one of these 20 teeth is important as good health of these teeth is vital for healthy permanent teeth . proper dental care for kids starts at the age of 6 months onwards. This is the age when the teething starts(approx). Kids start having irritation in their gums and have tendency to bite and munch on every thing. At this stage the gums of the kid should be wiped with a wet gauze . this gives relief to the kid. A child’s first visit to dentist should be at around the age of two years. From this time the kid should be acclemitized to the environment of a dental clinic. From this age topical fluoride application should be done for kids. This prevents caries. As the child grows his/her familiarity with the dental office increases. At the age of five years, the child should be taken for a thorough check up to dentist as this is the time when any defects can be corrected which might later affect the permanent dentition. IMPORTANT AGE LANDMARKS IN CHILD’S DENTAL CARE: 6 months teething happens. First deciduous teeth start erupting. Kids have gastric upset as well as pain in gums. A visit to dentist may be required. 2 years FIRST visit to dentist. Just to familiarize the child with dental office. There after a visit every six months is necessary. 5 years visit for a normal check up and fluoride application which may be started earlier at the advice of dentist. Kids should be taught to floss and brush twice a day 6 years this is the time when permanent teeth start erupting. Get a sealant on all erupting permanent molars as it prevents caries. There after a regular check up to ensure proper dental growth is required. Go for orthodontic treatment if required at the age of 10 years onwards. 10 years this is the age when orthodontic treatment can be safely started to correct any malalignments. WHAT PARENTS SHOULD DO? 1) Never threaten a child with the threat of injection. Never create a fear associated with dental pain in chid’s mind . 2) Parents should themselves brush twice a day in front of kids because kids always imitate their parents. 3) Tell your kids the disadvantages of eating chocolates and lots of sweets 4) Teach them how to floss 5) Instil good eating habits from beginning. 6) Visit your dentist every six months along with kids 7) Never offer chocolates as rewards 8) Tell them to brush everytime they eat chocolates or icecreams.

APEX LOCATOR- the dental magic
Today i will talk about the latest gadget in my clinic. It is called apex locator. This is hi tech equipment which makes root canal treatments so accurate. Usually an RCT is looked upon at with suspicion as its longevity is in doubt. It happens only when the measurements made during the treatment are wrong. Previously the measurements of the canal was done with the help of X-RAYS.
Now the latest technique spares us the horrors of excessive radiation. This is a very handy device and has made a lot of difference in my clinic. The apex locator is a small machine with rechargeable battery. It exactly measures the root canal length and allows the doctor to treat the tooth perfectly.
If the canal length is wrong and on the lesser side , then the treatment remains incomplete. On the other hand if the dentist over instruments the tooth then the bone beyond roots is hurt and a permanent damage is caused. Thus it is very necessary that the doctor is vigilant and careful about the facts. With the advent of apex locator the RCT has become more painless , less time consuming and more accurate.
Indications for RCT:
1)deep caries
2) pain in tooth
3) pus in the tooth(periapical abcess)
4)severe , uncontrollable sensitivity
5) endo-perio lesions
6) severe attrition( flattening of teeth)
7) injury /trauma to the tooth
Every patient should undergo RCT if any of the above indications are present, which may vary from patient to patient. It is always better to save a tooth rather than remove as an artificial tooth can never match the efficiency of natural tooth.
So is my advice , that never get scared of an RCT. Its a painless process which takes 1 to 3 sitting depending on the tooth. With the advent of apex locator a new era has dawned in the field of RCT. We should always put a crown on the tooth which is root canal treated . this strengthens the tooth and makes it fit to fight the rigours of oral cavity.

dental economics

DENTAL ECONOMICS
Very often dental treatment is associated with heavy expenses. It is true that dental treatment is expensive, but it is surprising to know that it is much less expensive than most other general body treatments. For instance , a cardiac surgery costs in lakhs (varying at various centres) but in contrast ninety five percent of dental treatments are much cheaper. This is a very sensitive and touchy topic to talk about but a very important one. Today i will be discussing the economics of dentistry and its implications towards your benefit.
Can you avoid dental treatment? Well, the answer is no. It can not be avoided if you don’t visit a dentist’s office for routine check ups. Only routine check ups can prevent complicated dental treatments.in fact if we are little vigilant and informed then we can save a lot of money on dental treatment.
Let me start with periodontitis or pyorrhoea. This is a most common disease which affects many of us. The actual treatment is gum surgery which may cost anywhere from twenty to forty thousand. If we visit a dentist regularly and get our annual check ups and scaling done then we will never get the disease and we have to spend much less money in our whole life time. Thus your teeth are saved as well as your money.
There is tooth decay in most of our oral cavities. It hardly takes 500 to 1000 rs(rough estimate) to fill a tooth. But imagine if you don’t go to a dentist in time and the cavity increases and infects the tooth then u will have severe pain . the treatment will be root canal treatment (RCT) plus capping. This will cost much more than just one filling.
In a life time of modern urban citizen he/she can save more than fifty thousand rs just by regular visits to dentist. The reason being is that modern food habits and life style leads to gum diseases and caries and ultimately tooth loss. So you will be taking treatment for gums, many RCTs , cappings and the end result being DENTURES. If you add up the costs for all treatments and the mental agony it comes to much more than any amount of money spent. That too when you know that all this could be stopped and avoided.
Thus the best way is to avail of preventive treatments and visit the dentist every 6 months. Some of the preventive treatments available are :Scaling,Fluoride varnishes, Dental sealants , space maintainers, habit breaking appliances , preventive tooth creams etc.
The good news is that for the first time in india , dental insurance is being launched. Its being launched on 16th September. This is for sure going to change the face of dentistry in india and the attitude and aptitude of patients towards dentistry.

dentistry and its scope

DENTAL TREATMENT AND ITS SCOPE

Very often people tend to ignore dental problems. The general thinking is that dental treatment and dental disease is very minor and bears no implications to general well being. But we should recognise the importance of oral health. It irks me when i hear the patients asking for the guarantee of the treatment as the dental treatments are of minor nature. I want to convey to such people that dental treatment is as serious as any other surgery and is very much of medical nature and the uncertainity associated with the treatment is same as of any other medical stream.

Oral cavity is the window to general health and a healthy smile speaks a lot about the health of the person. Recently the dentistry has expanded its wings and the treatments offered are of a wide nature.

PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY

This is the latest trend as prevention is always better than cure. We can prevent a lot of oral diseases just by visiting our dental surgeon at regular intervals.

1) Use of regular fluoridated creams can prevent caries and sensitivity in adults.

2) Fluoride application in kids can save their teeth from painful caries

3) Dental sealants are very effective in preventing caries in kids as well as adults.

4) Simple food habits can prevent caries- avoid eating sugary foods

5) Very soon a vaccine will be available to avoid caries. The trials are on for such a vaccine

RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY

This includes restoration of missing teeth and filling of carious teeth.

This is very important as timely restoration of teeth can avoid many other complications.few components of restorative dentistry are as follows:

1) Dental implants

2) Crowns and bridges

3) Dentures

4) Root canal treatments

5) Cosmetic fillings(silver fillings are out dated)

COSMETIC DENTISTRY

This field deals with beautifaiction of ones smile. These days people are getting beauty conscious and every one wants to dazzle and flash a million dollar smile. There are dental whitening procedures, dental jewellary, smile designing, braces to correct malalign teeth, correction of gummy smiles, crown lenghthening, correction of smile lines etc.

Some of these are lunch time procedure as they can be done in an hours time to give you a dazzling smile.

PERIODONTICS

This is the field which completely removes gum diseases like pyorrhoea. The procedures included are gum surgery, bone graft,GTR etc.

DENTAL MEDECINE

A careful clinician can detect many of the systemic diseases much before they appear in body. We can safely say that good health starts at oral cavity.this makes a regular visit to the detist all the more important.

All sorts of gastric troubles like ulceration can be seen in oral mucosa.

Even hyperacidity can be seen in oral cavity.

Anaemia – the first sign appear in oral mucosa and only a dental surgeon can detect it.

Diseases like psoriasis and eczema show their first appearance in mouth.

Signs and symptoms of oral cancer are also present in the mouth many years before actual cancer appears in the mouth.

These are just the few aspects of dentistry. It is very vast and serious science which can save many lives .

Thus it is my advice to all to not fear the dentist but to be benefitted by the dentistry.

never leave a decayed tooth in your mouth for too long

A carious or decayed tooth can be potentially hazardous and can lead to various health hazards.

recently i had a patient.with root stumps since 5 yrs. the patient complained of redddis swelling in the gum area near that decayed tooth. on biopsy we found that it was pyogenic grauloma. we did a surgery and removed the granuloma and removed the decayed tooth as well as the granuloma originated frm that .

if a carious tooth left in the oral cavity for long unattended, it may even lead to problems like tumour,abcess or cancer. so you should never leave a tooth unattended. either get a filling done or RCT or at least get it extracted although extraction dentistry is outdated.

DENTAL IMPLANTS

dental implants are the latest in thing in dentistry. now you dont need to get a bridge done to restore your missing teeth. bridging not only is unnatural , old world but it also compromises adjacent healthy teeth.

now dental implants can be place in your jaw very conveniently to mimic and function as natural teeth. it is a pain less procedure and any one who if fit enough to get an extraction done can get a dental implant. it tech savvy , simple and latest techinique which has a very high success rate.

nobel biocare implants are the best. will post implant pics very soon.

ORAL CANCER

Oral cancer is a disease which can happen to any one because it has reasons like tobacco, smoking , drinking , areca nut(supari) etc. ther are genetic reasons and there are life style reasons.So oral cancer can happen to any one . But no need to panic.It can be detected very early and stopped. You just have to be very careful and vigilant. A visit to dentist every 6 months is a must. Any white /red spot or an ulcer in your mouth(more then 15 days) can be oral cancer. it takes 5 to 10 years for these spots to turn into full fledged cancer.
There are techniques like BRUSH TEST, biopsy-incisional and excisional, to detect cancer.
the treatment if detected early varies from surgery to radiotherapy to chemotherapy.
Oral cancer is curable but it should be detected early and timely. detection by brush test technique is not at all painful.
Biopsy is done for more advanced lesions. so dont hesitate and come forward to stop oral cancer. spread the word....why not start it now and check your own mouth...rush to a dentist near you and start saving lives!