Dental Wise

DR. Mahfujul Haq Khan BDS, DDS, FSDCE (USA), PhD (Japan), Post Doc. (Japan) Specialised: Crown and Bridge work, and Periodontal plastic surgery (USA) Assistant Professor and Consultant, Department of Dentistry, BIRDEM Hospital.

Dear Dr. Khan,
I am 45 years old. I have some black spot (May be caries) but no pain. It seems same size for the last 10 years. What is your opinion? Should I go for filling or wait? Tell me about dental caries.
Thanking you
Shajahan Majid

I think you should go for dental filling. Destroyed tooth structure ( Black spot) does not regenerate. However, the progression of cavities can be stopped by treatment. The goal is to preserve the tooth and prevent complications.
In filling teeth, the decayed material is removed (by drilling) and replaced with a restorative material such as silver alloy, porcelain, or composite resin, Inlay and onlay Crowns (Cap) are used if decay is extensive and there is limited tooth structure. A root canal is recommended if the nerve in a tooth dies from decay.

'Caries' is Latin for 'rot' or 'rotten'. Rot happens in wood and other materials. Dental Caries or cavity is the most common of all oral diseases, and since the average individual has his first experience with this disease in childhood. It is recommended that between 11/2-2 years of age, children must have their first checkup before any extensive cavities are established. Dental Caries very often appears as a white chalky area on the enamel. It later softens and then the tooth structure breaks down. If not treated in the initial stages, it progresses towards the pulp and will then require extensive treatment to save the tooth.

Prevention
Oral hygiene is necessary to prevent cavities. This consists of regular professional cleaning (every 6 months), brushing at least twice a day, and flossing at least daily. X-rays may be taken yearly to detect possible cavity development in high risk areas of the mouth.

Sticky foods (such as dried fruit or candy) are best if eaten as part of a meal rather than as a snack. If possible, brush the teeth or rinse the mouth with water after eating these foods.

Hello Doctor,
Thanks for writing wonderful article. My friends, my family all are benefited by reading your column. I will appreciate if you please continue this effort.
This time I will request you if you give some tips about food related to dental health.
Jahan Ali

Choosing the right foods in your diet is an important aspect in having good oral health.
Choosing a Healthy Diet Choosing a healthy diet may sound easy, however, fruits, milk, cereals, bread and some vegetables contain sugars and / or starches. Carbonated sodas, sweet fruit drinks and sugary snack foods should be limited.

You don't have to avoid these foods, just keep in mind that you should eat a balanced diet, brush your teeth twice a day and floss daily.

Healthy Tips
*Drink plenty of water
*To get a balanced diet, eat a variety of foods. Choose foods from each of the five major food groups: breads, cereals and other grain products fruits Vegetables, meat, poultry and fish, Milk, cheese and yogurt
*Cut down on snacking in between meals
*Limit snacks and drinks that are high in sugar
*Brush twice a day
*Floss Daily
*Visit your dentist for regular check ups

For more information call 0189249262 or visit www.ikodental.com

If you have a problem with dampness in closets, fill a coffee can with charcoal briquettes. Place container on floor, punch holes in the cover. For larger closets use 2 or 3 one-pound cans. Chalk will also help cut down on dampness. Tie 12 pieces together and hang in closet.

Under A Different Sky

By Iffat Nawaz

Circles

“And how do you know these people” she asked, and I looked at her blankly. Maybe the question should be “How do these people know me?” or “What do they know me as?” But I gave a more normal answer, through college, through common friends, through some volunteer group I use to work with, something along that line.

“And who am I to them?” I wondered. Every group we belong to, how different are we, and which persona do we pull out to belong? I wondered how, in a social circle we represent and bring in something from our superficial or intimate selves to belong, a part of ourselves that might not define us fully but enough for us to be comfortable and to add something to that niche, something valuable even if temporary.

Like a cliché, I remember being younger when all I could be was myself, and myself only, and I had my friends who knew me to be myself and myself only. Now I have come far, a long way, grown, and diminished.

When did it change; when I left them perhaps? My good friends, my true friends and I went along with my life, convinced I was going to find more true friends along the way, and I was always surrounded…by you, by your friends, who were my friends also.

Then I was in my late teen years, when everything seemed right, because I was right, most profound, and I belonged to a group who had direction yet needed it more and more, because we were clueless and collecting baskets full of clues. I was there as a mirror for diverse philosophies, adding a mind from the east. I played that role well; most of us at that age do; philosophers not knowing our philosophies have been told, used and trashed long ago…

Inevitably those philosophies were soon defeated by 'smarter' theories, and so I went on finding myself again, college, amidst thousands of faces I was just another, and then I found yet another crowd, through late night study groups, partying, and passing out, indulging our youth, once again. This time I was the spontaneous one, the hyper one, laughing louder than the rest, getting soaked in rain; the one who makes a mean cup of chai. There were many like me, in each group, but I was essential to mine.

Then it ended, like all things, and I became the quiet one, the one who realized she still has a lot to learn but can't, because I prefer to listen rather than act, and I listened in yet another circle, square, and triangle. It widened my eyes, but perhaps didn't soothe me as much as I wanted it to…

And then I was the cynical one and I fit in once again, for my harsh practicalities, dreaming less and swearing more. That was a hit, and it was fun. Cynicism always works!

And now I have forgotten when I see them who I was, my circles, come back to me in pieces, sometimes as dots and points and lines, I have forgotten who I was then to you, to me, who I used to be.

And they bring me back, piece by piece, my elapsed self. They have added to it their own impressions, love, hate, drama, and I stand here being me, the me I am today, fascinated, surrounded by circles after circles, in between isolation and a hug.