Babool, Vajradanti toothpastes lack fluoride: Doc

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 19

Prof K Gauba, head of the Oral Health Sciences Centre, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, said Babool and Vicco Vajradanti toothpastes lack fluoride content which is must for teeth’s health.

He was addressing a press meet on Monday as a prelude to observing World Oral Heath Day on March 20.

“Babool and Vajradanti don’t have fluoride. Those toothpastes having neem do not have fluoride content whereas others have,” he said.

He clarified that Chandigarh’s water has 0.3 ppm fluoride but we need 1 ppm.

“Otherwise even if water has 1 ppm, it helps during the germination of teeth and later, we need for topical impact where toothpastes come to help,” he said.

“Cola drinks have PH-3. It is like drinking acid,” he said.

“Eating chocolates every other day is not fine. It is important to brush after chocolate. It is not the quantity which matters but the frequency of eating sweet which is harmful. It is better to have a chocolate day and have substantial amount of chocolate,” said Prof Gauba.

400-500 dental patients visit PGI everyday

According to Prof Gauba, they receive 400-500 patients everyday. “We have just three root canal experts for adults. A root canal procedure takes one to five sittings. About 50-60 patients for root canal are attended everyday. There are nine specialties in dentistry but we have just three,” said Prof Gauba.

Special kids have poor oral hygiene

Recently, a survey was carried out by the Oral Health Sciences Centre, PGI, to evaluate the oral health status and treatment needs of the Children with Special Health Care Needs attending special schools and day care centres at Chandigarh. It was found that kids with autism and mental retardation were commonly enrolled in these schools and day care centres.

“These children showed neglected oral hygiene as well as unmet dental needs such as gingivitis and dental caries, deleterious habits such as mouth breathing and drooling of saliva. We at the PGI are treating these children by using behaviour management techniques or under general anesthesia as per requirement,” said a PGI spokesperson.

The centre has also worked on visually impaired children where oral health education was imparted to them through Braille, dental models, audio CDs and JAWS computer programme. “As a result, the knowledge of children and their oral health practices were found to improve,” said the spokesperson.

Special oral health education material for deaf and dumb children in sign language and in the form of video with subtitles has also been designed by the Oral Health Sciences Centre, PGI. This material has been tried in some schools for deaf and dumb which has resulted in improvement in knowledge and practice of children regarding oral health care and the dental diseases have shown a decline.

A study was also done to estimate the prevalence of oral diseases in 5-15 years old children with autism spectrum disorders. Abnormal oral habits such as nail biting, head banging and clenching were to found to more in these children as compared to normal children.