The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

HEALTH

Way to flash 32 pearls
Naveen S. Garewal

Ludhiana, March 17
City-based dental surgeon, Dr Aarti Mishra, has come out with an informative booklet titled “The 32 Pearls” containing information on dental health with the objective of educating the people on dental care.

She told Ludhiana Tribune as there were a lot of misconceptions and ignorance about dental care among the masses, so she had come up with this booklet that very clearly described the common dental diseases, their causes and prevention.

“Early detection and treatment was the most important single factor for successful dental treatment”, she said. The treatment in the initial stages is not only less time consuming and cheaper, but also results in better results, as the natural tooth structure is easier to preserve, according to her.

“The 32 Pearls” describes in details important issues concerning dental care like filling of cavities, requirement for root canal treatment, extracting badly decayed teeth and replace missing teeth with dentures or bridges. But above all preservation of teeth preventive methods has been stressed, as the cost of dental treatment is much higher than the cost of prevention of disease.

The book has the following advice for healthier teeth and better dental care.

Proper diet:
“Avoiding excessive amount of sugar in the diet plays an important role in preventing dental diseases. Foods like chocolates, sweets and toffees, jams, jellies, cookies and candies, etc should be avoided”, she says as the bacteria present in the dental plaque feed on the sugars in the mouth and produce acid. This acid attacks enamel (the outer protective covering of the tooth) and starts dental decay.

Children and adults should include fruit and vegetables in their diet. The frequency of sugar intake is more important in influencing tooth decay than the total consumption. If small sugary snacks are taken every two or three hours in a day, teeth will remain exposed to acid for a long period of time, she says.

She suggests that the mouth should be rinsed whenever sugary snacks are eaten in between meals so that they are cleared away from the mouth.

Plaque control:
Dental plaque is a sticky layer which contains million of bacteria and grown on the surfaces of teeth and gums. Bacteria present in the plaque cause cavities in teeth and also inflammation of gums leading to gum disease. The sticky layer of plaque has to be removed regularly from the teeth as its formation stars against some time after its removal, she says adding that the most effective way of plaque removal is proper brushing of all tooth surfaces twice a day with a suitable toothpaste.

Right toothbrush:
To clean teeth effectively, a toothbrush with soft round bristles should be used. A toothbrush with hard bristles should not be used as it causes wearing down of teeth and recession of gums.

BRUSHING RIGHT:
(a) To clean the outer surfaces of teeth, the toothbrush should be titled at an angle of 45 degree against the gum line and at least six vertical strokes of brushing should be given at one place.

(b) The sides of the bristles and not the tips should be placed against the teeth for brushing. The brush head will cover 2-3 teeth at one time.

(d) This procedure should be repeated on the inside surfaces of teeth also.

(e) For cleaning of chewing surfaces of molars and premolars press the bristles of your brush into the groves present on the chewing surfaces of molar and premolar teeth and give back and forth motion without lifting the toothbrush.

(f) To clean the inner surfaces of upper front teeth the brush should be held vertically and moderate up to down stroke should be given with the front part of the brush.

(g) For cleaning the inner surfaces of lower front teeth the brush is again held vertically a moderate down to up strokes are given with the front part of the brush.

(h) This brushing technique requires patience, practice and perseverance in order to be mastered. It takes about 2-3 minutes to carry out the whole procedure. Unless the brushing technique is proper, an expensive toothbrush cannot do much good, nor can medicate toothpastes.

Beware of cold drinks!
Shivani Bhakoo

Ludhiana, March 17
Beware of cold drinks, their excessive use may prove harmful for your teeth and bones. Latest research in the West on the consumption of such drinks has revealed that the teeth and bones are worst affected by the consumption of such drinks.

Content analysis of different drinks revealed that some cold drinks, including the leading brands, have 3.4 PH value, which means high acidity strong enough to dissolve teeth and bones. During a research a broken tooth was placed in a bottle of a leading soft drink brand. It took just 10 days for the tooth to dissolve completely.

The researchers have been warning against the excessive consumption of aerated drinks as these contain carbon dioxide which is not advisable for health. In one of the colleges in Delhi University, about two months back a student fainted after consuming eight bottles of a leading brand during a competition “who would drink the most”... The doctors attributed his unconsciousness to excessive quantity of carbon dioxide that went into his body with the soft drink (a leading brand).

The doctors have also been pointing out the poor food value of the soft drinks. According to Ms Ritu Sudhakar, a dietician at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, no doubt the soft drinks contain high amount of calories but they do not provide nourishment. They do not have proteins, vitamins and minerals. These provide a good taste for tongue only. She said that in human body, there is a balance of phosphorous and calcium in particular ratio which makes the bones strong. When the intake of phosphorous increases in the body, the bones get affected and become weak.

SPORT

GGNIMT Ehsaas winners
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, March 17
Students of Gujranwala Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology (GGNIMT) were adjudged the overall winners of Ehsaas, an inter-varsity cultural festival, held at Punjab College of Technical Education here yesterday.

The main attraction of the festival was a fashion show in which 13 teams, each with 10 participants, presented different themes and dresses. The team of Guru Nanak Institute of Management (GNIMT), Gujarkhan campus, Ludhiana, was declared first, followed by the students of the Punjab Institute of Management and Technology, Mandi Gobindgarh, and the Institute of Management Studies at Guru Nanak Girls’ College, Ludhiana.

The students of GGNIMT won the first prize in choreography and those from GNIMT were declared first in short skits. Dr H.S. Gurm, Vice Chancellor, Punjab Technical University, gave away prizes to the students. Dr Sadhu Singh, Director, Colleges of the university, released the souvenir. Dr K.N.S. Kang, director of the college, said that such events gave a very practical exposure to the students from different institutes.

Nancy clinches best athlete title

Nancy Arora was adjudged best athlete in the Ist annual sports festival of the Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology here today. She bagged two gold in the 100m and 200m events.

The other results are as follows:

100m: Barinder 1, Manpreet 2, Shveta 3;

200m: Nancy Arora 1, Barinder 2; 400m: Nancy Arora 1, Barinder 3; Long jump: Nancy Arora 1, Gagan 2; Volleyball: BCA 1, BBA 2; Basketball: BBA 1, BCA 2; Kho-Kho: BCA 1, BBA 2; Badminton (singles): Ruchi 1, Meenakshi 2,

Badminton (doubles): Sukhbir and Malvika 1, Kuljeet and Gaganpreet 2; Table-tennis: Richa 1, Gurleen 2;

Carrom (doubles): Vishakha and Punit 1, Abhipsha and Dalwinder 2.

Rural sports meet

Host Lalton Kalan clinched the kabaddi (55 kg) title in the rural sports meet held here today. On the second day of the three-day sports meet, volleyball, bullock-cart races and dog races were also organised. The meet is organised by the Youth Services Club and the village panchayat jointly.

In kabaddi (50 kg), Billan village beat Lalton Kalan by 12-11.5 points. In league matches Billan beat Thrike, Lalton beat Sapran, Sahjad beat Chhandian and Lalton ‘B’ beat Sunet. In bullock-cart races, almost 110 participants filled their entries and dog races a record of 64 participants filled their entries.