JAMMU, March 20: Dr. Gautam Sharma who is a dental specialist (Periodontist) with the University of Jammu and also the former president of Indian Dental Association (IDA) Jammu said that the Oral Health day is observed throughout the World on 20th of March every year. The Theme of this year’s world oral health day is Be Proud of your Mouth for the happiness and well-being . He said that in India, oral and dental health is the most ignored aspect of the health and patients only reports when they have severe toothache and swelling of the face. An unhealthy mouth not only impacts general health but it can have a severe impact on people’s emotional, social, mental, and overall physical well-being.
Dr. Sharma stressed that the pathogenic and virulent bacteria which causes dental infections can transport and spread via blood to cause infections in the vital organs of the body. Thus dental infections can be dangerous and can invoke damage to the other parts of the body. The harmful bacteria or even their products can travel through blood stream to different organs causing direct damage or through the process of inflammation.
The commonest reason for occurrence of gum disease is infection due to bacteria which, if left untreated, may progress to periodontitis causing destruction of the supporting structures of a tooth and inturn implicated as a risk factor in heart problems, complications during pregnancy, dysregulated control of diabetes, Covid-19 complications, lung and kidney problems.
He said that bleeding during toothbrushing or after biting on hard surfaces like an apple, recession of gingiva, swollen gums and loosening or mobility of teeth may be the features of periodontitis. The margins of gum are red, puffy and swollen due to the adherence of a film known as plaque on the tooth surface. The film contains a lot of bacteria in its structure and if remain uncleaned changes into a hard structure called calculus which is visible as yellowish-white deposits on the tooth. In case, these symptoms are present then the patient must immediately report to a specialist doctor known as Periodontist who is an expert in treating diseases of gums and supporting tissues of teeth.
Hormonal influences affect the dental tissues esp. gingiva (gums) which is a part of periodontal structure. Hormonal changes increase the risk of periodontal disease. Therefore, it becomes utmost important for a dentist to recognize and treat the female patient with an appropriate therapy as females undergo regular and periodic hormonal changes.
Dr.Gautam Sharma, who also runs a private dental clinic at Gandhi Nagar, Jammu, said that it is easy to maintain good oral hygiene by brushing twice daily with a soft bristle toothbrush and it’s mandatory to brush after the dinner. Use of dental floss can avoid interdental caries by removing the food particles present between the two teeth. For children, start toothbrushing as soon as first milk tooth erupts in the oral cavity. A child would start toothbrushing by self if he/she sees the parent doing brushing in the morning and night, so the parents have to become a role model.
He said that in his Youtube channel namely Dr Gautam Dentist, he has advised the public to avoid soft, sticky and sweet food like candies, chocolates, wafers and also carbohydrate rich food like potato chips which get stick to the teeth and cause cavities (dental caries). Cleaning tongue while brushing is very important because it has many papilla over its surface which may accumulate bacteria, dead cells etc. and if remained uncleaned then it may cause halitosis (bad breath from the mouth). There can be other causes of bad breath from mouth but uncleaned tongue is the most common reason for it.
He stressed that people shall never neglect bleeding gums, yellow deposits over the teeth, mobile teeth, receding gums as these symptoms may lead to severe dental problems. Visiting a dentist every six months for routine dental checkup and simple procedure like scaling can prevent the progression of gum infection to more severe periodontal infections.