Lack of Dental Health Awareness in India

In Varanasi, India, many children have dental problems due to a lack of awareness and understanding surrounding dental health. Many young children eat foods bad for their teeth, and are not encouraged to brush twice daily.

VARANASI: Lack of awareness about dental and oral health among young children forces them on the verge of dental problems early in their life. Precaution and care should be taken on the part of the parents even before visiting dentist, says TP Chaturvedi, dean, faculty of dental sciences, BHU.

Talking to TOI about dental diseases in children on Sunday, the senior periodontist maintained that wrong eating habits and poor selection of food stuff caused children to fall prey to dental problems, especially caries, infected gums and stained teeth witnessing plaque formation. “Parents of these young children seldom push them to brush their teeth twice a day. In addition, sticking to junk food, refreshment beverages and overdose of chocolates cause decay in teeth,” he added on the occasion.

Saying that the faculty had already initiated outreach programme to start dental and oral awareness drive on the outskirts and rural pockets of the district, Prof Chaturvedi said besides dentists, it was parents’ responsibility to inculcating healthy dental and oral habits in… continue reading

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Baby Teeth Are A Good Source Of Stem Cells

In 2000, scientists discovered that baby teeth are potent sources of stem cells. The stem cells must be extracted and preserved through freezing in order to use later in life.

Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In addition, in many tissues they serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell. ( Source: The National Institutes of Health resource for stem cell research)

Adult stem cells in dental pulp are a recent discovery. They are undifferentiated mesenchymal stem cells, which appear to have greater plasticity than other adult stem cell types. Dental stem cells, like other mesenchymal stem cells, can trans differentiate into cardiac muscle cells and skeletal muscle cells, suggesting an important future role in muscle repair and regeneration. Adult stem cells in dental pulp are easily obtained from primary and permanent teeth.

In 2000, scientists at… continue reading

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