BDS INSIGHTS by Dr Manish Khazane

By Laura McMullen Oh, you don't love spending time and money as a stranger picks, buffs, scrapes, fills or pulls your teeth? Join the club. No one says you ought to enjoy dental appointments, but that doesn't mean you should skip them. It's through the mouth that we breathe, eat , communicate and kiss, so it's usually worth 45 minutes of discomfort to keep your mouth healthy. If you're not convinced, we've debunked three popular excuses for skipping appointments. Dental work is too expensive. Many of us have dropped a swollen, drool-soaked jaw upon leaving a dental appointment and hearing the cost of the procedure. In fact, more than one in three Americans delays dental care because of their financial situation, according to a 2013 survey by ORC International and Aspen Dental , which also shows that 61 percent of workers making less than $...

A dentist who saved his brother’s life by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) when he suffered a cardiac arrest is urging everyone to learn how to perform the first aid technique. Dentist Dr Shabir Bashir and dental nurse Uznah Chowdrey kept 33-year-old Rangzeb Bashir alive by performing chest compressions and breaths for ten minutes until paramedics arrived at Beckside Road Dental Practice in Lidget Green , on May 21. Mr Bashir, 33, of Hollybank Gardens, was working at the practice when he collapsed suddenly in the bathroom, smashing his head on the sink.                   Hearing the crash Dr Bashir and Miss Chowdrey broke down the door of the bathroom to find Mr Bashir collapsed in a pool of blood. Dr Bashir said: “I put him in a position to assess him and realised he was not breathing and there was no pulse. We have training (in CPR) annually in conjunction with Bradford Royal Infirmary – it is compulsory....

The dental symbol was adopted by the American Dental Association in November 1965 as the official emblem of dentistry. The Greek letter Δ (delta), for dentistry, and the Greek letter Ο (omicron), for odont (tooth) form the periphery of the design. In the background of the design are 32 leaves and 20 berries, representative of the permanent and temporary teeth. The suggested colors for the symbol are: a shade of lilac in the background—the official academic color of dentistry; the letter Ο in gold; the letter Δ in black; the cautery in gold outlined in black, and the leaves, berries and serpent merely outlined in black on the lilac background. The National Association of Dental Faculties in 1897 chose the color lilac as the profession’s major color. The color trims dental schools’ graduation gowns and caps and may be found in dental banners, emblems, insignia, signs, symbols and publications.

Balanced occlusion in complete dentures can be defined as stable simultaneous contact of the opposing upper and lower teeth in centric relation position and a continuous smooth bilateral gliding from this position to any eccentric position within the normal range of mandibular function.  Dentists point of view on occlusion : Do you have a headache? Do you have migraine attacks? Neckaches, shoulder pains, etc…..? Have these been long drawn with lifetime dependence on medications? And still these aches keep coming back to you, don’t they? Well, a very important anatomical aspect of the head has always been discarded by the medical practitioners who you would normally go for treatment. That point is the Tempero Mandibular Joint. It is just in front of your ear and can be felt like a hinge when you palpate with your finger. The mobile lower jaw articulates with the skull at that point. It undergoes wear due to excessive ...

  High levels of flouride ingestion from dietary sources alone can place people at increased risk for developing dental fluorosis. (DTI/Photo courtesy of josconklin) IOWA CITY, Iowa, USA: In order to determine the amount of fluoride that children receive from solid foods, researchers have assessed data on the diets of young children. They have discovered that some receive more than 80 percent of their dietary fluoride from solids, which might place them at an elevated risk of developing dental fluorosis. According to researchers at the University of Iowa, children ingested the majority of dietary fluoride from beverages but a few subjects received substantial amounts of fluoride from solid foods alone. This demonstrates that solid foods can be important contributors to dietary fluoride intake, they said. At 6 months of age, babies ingested an estimated 8 percent of dietary fluoride from solid foods. Baby foods provided the highest levels of daily fluoride int...

Having natural pink color gums is very important for good smile. Smile looks beautiful if one has beautiful teeth with natural looking pink gums. But that is not always possible. Generally the gums color is same as the skin color. The people from the west are fair and their gum color is also pink mostly. Dark gums are mostly seen in dark skinned people.  The gum discoloration may be present in patches.  The extent of gum discoloration and the intensity is different for different individuals. Dark pigmented gums don’t mean that they are unhealthy and are not an indication of a disease.   What are the causes of Dark Gums: Racial or physiological gingival pigmentation: It is seen as the genetic trait. The main culprit behind this is the black pigment known as Melanin. The production of melanin increases manifolds in the presence of sunlight. At the same time it is more in the persons having complexion towards darker side. The individuals who are i...