Month: August 2019

Dental Public Health In India – A Concern?

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Oral health has been a cause of concern in India. The primary reason is the high level consumption of tobacco and next is unawareness about it particularly in rural areas. Excessive usage of tobacco and added to that lack of oral hygiene amongst Indians more so rural Indians has led to loss of lives due to oral cancers and other life threatening conditions. One example is that of a 42 year old Bareilly resident Mohsin Khan, an embroidery worker who started chewing tobacco on the behest of friends. Recently, he faced issues with concentration while doing embroidery after he returned from a Tobacco Cessation Cell in New Delhi, but it was too late for him as he had been diagnosed with leukoplakia viz. a pre-cancerous lesion. He also mentioned that he wasn’t aware that oral health was so vital and could cause life threatening conditions like Cancer. He also mentioned that he used to clean his teeth using Neem Sticks and Coal Ash.

Dental Public Health In India

As per government statistics over 70% of the school children have cavities and over 90% of the adult population in India does get affected by periodontal condition. Even National Oral Health Policy draft of 2018 does mention that oral diseases in India are rampant and repetitive as well making it a silent epidemic of sorts.

Oral issues within Indian children and adults in India include problems like cavities, periodontal conditions, oro-facial anomalies, temporo-mandibular joint disorders, loss of teeth, dental fluorosis, dental trauma as well as oral cancers as per Consultant Dentist of Columbia Asia Hospital.

Rural Areas it gets worse because there is lack of infrastructure there. Scarcity of dental health professionals in public hospitals is also and added issue. Well, this makes it difficult for the common man as he/ she have to shell out the expenses for oral treatment from their own pockets. As a result the common man opts out of treatment and goes for extraction, which is a cheaper way out.

Well, addictions like alcohol and tobacco do play a vital role in oral health. Additionally people in India ignore dental health issues big time. There has been proven research that managing dental health properly can help prevent many health conditions and even reduces the risk of diabetes, preterm labor and even heart attack as per Praveshh Gaur, Founder, Director of Srauta Wellness Center.

*Sourced from Internet

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Drinking Water Is Good For Dental Health

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Drinking Water Is Good For Dental Health

We all are already aware of the enormous health benefits water provides to human beings. Calling it the healthiest drink ever could be an understatement considering the benefits it comes loaded with. From hydrating the body to keeping your skin and other organs of the body healthy, it is a health package with something for every organ of the body, if you may say so. You want to increase your metabolism, drink water. You want to lose weight, drink water, you want a glowing skin free from wrinkles and dark circles, drink water. Water is the ultimate answer to many questions around healthy body. What’s more drinking more water can also help you manage your oral health. Well, most of you might be aware of it already. For shiny healthy teeth along-side brushing, flossing and gargling, drinking a lot of water can actually help keep teeth shining and healthy. As our body is made up of over 60% of water, staying hydrated keeps the nutrients flowing throughout the body and thus providing glow to your skin and elasticity as well. The waste is also discarded and it also helps your muscles. If the water is fluoridated, it’s all the more helpful for health. Drinking water that has fluoride and yes as on day there are only a few countries like USA who ensure that the water has fluoride in it for the health of your teeth. A natural element it helps in prevention of tooth decay by mixing with the tooth enamel. It also helps in prevention plaque deposits on teeth by working with saliva. Drinking water frequently helps keep the mouth clean and avoids wash away the remains of food particles, soda, sugars, etc. that are responsible for formation of bacteria. Water dilutes all the acid present in the mouth and reverse tooth decay.

Dry mouth can invite bacteria and due to reduced production of saliva tooth decay could be boosted. Drinking a lot of water ensure that your mouth is not dry and tooth decay is kept at bay. One of the simple solutions against bad breadth is drinking a lot of water. The bad breath particularly when you wake up is a result of dry mouth. If you drink water throughout the day then it can help you wash away all the bacteria causing particles and fight dry mouth that causes bad breadth.

Well, water is calorie free and is loaded with benefits hence making drinking atleast three litres of water as an adult throughout the day can help your oral health and over all body as well. Make drinking water a way of life and see how life smiles at you.

*Sourced from Internet

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Over 500 Teeth Extracted From A Kids Mouth – A Bizzare Dental Story

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Yes, as bizarre as it may sound, it is cent percent true. Recently a boy from South Chennai complaining about jaw pain was taken to a hospital for examination. The doctors scanned him and even got an X-ray that confirmed that he had over 500 teeth. The teeth were inside a sac that was embedded in his lower jaw.

Dr Prathibha Ramani, head of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology at the Saveetha Dental College and Hospital termed them as abnormal teeth. The surgery for removal of the teeth was conducted last month by the team of doctors but before the surgery every tooth was examined on an individual basis. The surgery took around four to five hour’s time to empty the sac and confirm the presence of hundreds of teeth inside the same.

Over 500 Teeth Extracted From A Kids Mouth

The details of the teeth shared by the hospital say that there were 526 teeth in all and the size varied from 0.1 mm to 15 mm. The smallest of all also had root enamel coat as well as a crown implying that it was tooth. The boy had to remain in the hospital for three days after which he was discharge. This condition as per the experts is called ‘compound composite odontoma’ and is extremely rare. The factors responsible for this conditions is not known but could be environmental or genetic.

The parents also stated that their child did have a swelling in the jaw when he was three years old but they could not do much about it as he would not allow them or doctors to touch him and would never still still for physical examination.

The two surgeons who operated the boy explained the procedure saying ‘’Under general anesthesia, we drilled into the jaw from the top. We did not break the bone from the sides, meaning reconstruction surgery was not required. The sac was removed. You can think of it as a kind of balloon with small pieces inside.”

Dr Senthilnathan, one of the two operating surgeons stated that it was vital to pay attention to dental health and stop ignoring dental issues. Early treatment could help a long way. There is still lack of awareness about dental health particularly in rural areas due to affordability and ignorance. But, with this child all went well as per the doctor and he is now all healthy with 21 teeth.

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*Sourced from the Internet

Quackery In Dentistry

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Quackery has been in practice in the dental ecosystem for a long time now. A simple reason behind the same being the demand is more than supply, viz. there is a scarcity of qualified dental professionals. The domino effect, gullible people falling to the dupes of quacks, who provide dental treatment apparently backfires.

In India particularly people residing in remote areas, are deprived of affordable oral healthcare services. Quackery, for those who aren’t aware of the term means ‘fraudulent misrepresentation of one’s ability and experience in the treatment and diagnosis of a disease or the effects of the treatment that is provided’.

Even the high court has mentioned a quack as ‘a person who does not have knowledge of a particular system of medicine but practices in that system is a quack and a mere pretender of medical knowledge or skill’.

Quackery

If we go by the statistics, approximately 3000 quacks are already practicing dentistry across India on an illegal basis. Well, there is this huge difference in the allocation of dentists in public and private sector. Again wherever there is some basic oral healthcare facility available the infrastructure is really poor with limited workforce and resources.

Malpractices that the quacks carry out in dentistry include life threatening risks like using the same needle on multiple patients, not using sterilized equipment, no usage of aspepsis while undertaking procedures, using self-curing acrylic for replace a missing teeth. Using an already extracted tooth for replacing a missing one. The aforementioned are just a few examples of unethical practices that people fall prey to due to paucity of oral healthcare professionals. In the name of providing instant and pain-free treatment these quacks fool the people who are not well informed around oral care and are in need of immediate solution to their problems. In contrast, the treatment they receive when they consult such quacks is not only painful but destructive too, at times causing irreversible damage.

This problem too has a solution and the solution lies in providing accessibility to dental services in remote areas alongside stringent polices against unethical practice. Alternatively, spreading awareness amongst people around dental quacks and furthermore training these quacks after absorbing them would certainly help curb these problems to a great extent.

*Sourced from the Internet

Frailty Among Indian Elderly. Is Poor Dental Health The Culprit?

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For those who aren’t aware what frailty is all about, it means vulnerability towards dental health conditions or inability to perform daily routines due to declining health. One of the risk factors of frailty is poor oral health because it effects the abilities like smiling, eating and even speaking, ultimately the quality of life.

A study including 7735 British male participants and published in the American Geriatrics Society Journal does show that frailty and oral hygiene to go hand in hand.

The study started off when the participants were 40-59 years old in 1978 -1980. Then again in 2010-2012 the 1722 participants who were alive then were called for re-examination. At that time their age was 71-92 years. The participants were examined for their physical health, vital statistics as well as weight, walking and grip test as well. A questionnaire explaining their medical history as well as lifestyle was also needed to be answered besides information around social medical and health.

Additionally, there was a dental exam for noting the frailty status of the participants. The confirmation of frailty was done on the basis of three issues – weak grip, slow walking speed, weight loss, exhaustion or low physical activity levels.

Dental examination showed that around more than half viz. 64 percent had less than 21 teeth, over 54 percent were suffering from gum disease, 34 percent of the participants rated their oral health as poor or fair, 29 percent exhibited minimum two symptoms of dry mouth while almost 20 percent were having no teeth at all. 11 percent of the participants had difficulty eating food.

Well, considering this study, there seems to be a direction connection between frailty and oral health. As per an expert Dr. Carter, Chief Executive Oral health Foundation, in UK the people have good longevity but it comes at the cost of significant health problems for people over 65 years of age. Hence, brushing teeth effectively is necessary but due to dexterity and limited mobility, it makes it hard for the elders to do so. Hence, its advisable that elders give priority to their oral health and even the government takes measures in devising a effective oral health system particularly for the elder population.

*Sourced from the Internet

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