Updated on:- 17-Sep-2009

he highlight of the new ToothaSaurus pediatric dental exhibit at The Children's Museum of Wilmington are the microscopes magnifying saliva samples and sharks' teeth. External Links: Click here to visit CoastalCarolinaMoms to discuss this story and other topics of interest to parents At least, that was the opinion of 9-year-old Kaan Kurt, who visited the downtown museum's dental exhibit grand opening Sept. 10 with his parents, 2-year-old sister and more than 200 other attendees. The exhibit's goal is to teach children about dental hygiene and the tie between eating healthy and strong teeth. Pint-sized visitors can practice brushing with oversized teeth, see dental X-rays and play dentist with stuffed dinosaur patients. "We came up with a lot of ideas which we wanted to teach children about dental health," said Julie Dimock, a pediatric dentist with the Wilmington practice Dimock & Weinberg that sponsored the exhibit and provided equipment, such as a dental chair, for it. Dimock said the setting, which mimics a dental office, can help make some children less nervous when the time comes for them to visit their dentist. Though Kaan doesn't necessarily have that problem. "It's fun to get your teeth checked, to sit in the chair," said Kaan, whose family lives in Leland. The exhibit will run for three years. Leigh Muscle, the museum's director of development, said the idea stems from the popularity of the teddy bear hospital, which opened last year at the museum as a mini-doctor's office where children could patch up their stuffed patients. "We realized how children enjoy learning about health," she said. The dental display opened to visitors a few weeks ago so museum officials could make final tweaks. "All in all, it has gone well," Muscle said. "The parents have found it as educational as the children have found it fun." Selena Quinn of Winnabow said she thought the exhibit was informative. "The kids seem like they're having a lot of fun," Quinn said as her 3-year-old daughter Karleigh, wore a short dentist coat and examined a dinosaur's teeth. Adam Weinberg, also with Dimock & Weinberg, said pediatric dentists like him emphasize good dental hygiene practices with children but also concentrate on preventive care. He pointed out that the recommendation used to be for children to begin seeing a dentist at age 3. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry now suggests parents start taking their children in for appointments as early as 1 year old for prevention, as they would for a well-baby health check-up. "Our goal is to see kids early and try to prevent problems," Weinberg said.

 Updated on:- 17-Jun-2009

www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060404/ldh3.htm Workers motivated to give up tobacco Our Correspondent Ludhiana, April 3 Industrial workers, and particularly the migrants in the city smoke away their blues with beedi or cigarette puffs or chewing gutka and zarda. While blues return with a vengeance, their teeth gain palid layers. These were the findings of the Mission Smile Project, undertaken by the Thind Dental Clinic during a dental awareness and check -up camp, held at the Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha at Dhandari Khurd on Sunday. The team leader, Dr Rajan Thind ,stated that the majority of the locality hailed from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and were industrial workers with an average monthly income between Rs 2500 and Rs 3500. Most of the residents were living in dingy and unhygienic conditions. Most of them ,regular consumers of tobacco, had bad teeth and had never visited a dentist. On an average each of them spent anything between Rs 10 and 20 on tobacco products everyday. Dr Thind observed that teeth of majority of them had developed plaque and calculus .The Mission Smile team apprised the visitors of the basics of oral health and hygiene. The proper brushing technique and use of tooth paste was demonstrated and they were motivated to give up the consumption of tobacco. Around 45 teeth were removed free of cost. Further, more than 175 people were given appointment for cleaning of the teeth. Other members of the mission smile team were: Dr Kavita Bal, Dr Preeti Rajput , Ms Bir Sukhman, Mr Tarsém Lal Verma, Mr Rahul Ketan, Ms Harry, Ms Manpreet, Ms Saroj, Ms Kitty, Ms Amrita and Mr Amardeep. The camp was inaugurated by Ms Sunita Aggarwal, the area Councillor.

 Updated on:- 12-Sep-2009

Dear Dr Thind: I'm a dentist from India. I love and enjoy my profession. I am 39 years old and in order to get my dentist license here is USA I will have to take dental studies all over again. I am talking about 4 years of studying! Is this realistic and worthy at my age? rajnish patil Dear Dr. Patil: I was shocked to find out that you are absolutely correct: to take the dental licensing exam, you have to go through dental school again! Even more ridiculous, you could not even take the licensing exam to be a dental hygienist unless you took the one or two year course in the US for that! It seems unreasonable of New York State to require this of you -- but those are the facts. Should you retrain to become a dentist here? The answer depends on how much you love being a dentist and whether you could be satisfied in some other related field. Here are some things to consider when making that decision: Given your knowledge of the field, you could probably get a job running a dental practice -- supervising support staff, booking appointments and billing. The pay might be pretty good at a large practice. But could you be happy just doing this? If you would not be happy unless you worked directly with patients, you could take a one or two year course and be a dental hygienist. Sure you would be overqualified, but you could earn $40 an hour and deal with patients. How would you feel about that? Another possibility is to use your science training to become a teacher. There is a tremendous need for science teachers in our middle and high schools. You might be able to be hired, even without any further training, in a private or parochial school to teach science. For higher pay and better benefits, you could get a Masters and teach in the public school system. (New York City has a Teaching Fellows program that will employ you while you get your Masters.) However, if none of these options will make you happy and you will feel cheated or resentful if you can not practice as a dentist, then I would look into retraining -- but before you start a program, check on their track record for finding employment for graduates in their forties. Regards Dr Thind

 Updated on:- 12-May-2009

Cancer Treatment Breakthrough Welcomed By Leading Mouth Cancer Campaigners Main Category: Cancer / Oncology Also Included In: Dentistry Article Date: 05 May 2009 - 3:00 PDT email icon email to a friend printer icon printer friendly write icon view / write opinions rate icon rate article Ads by Google Cancer : A New Hope Appreciated by WHO,no side effects Results even in last stages ! www.cancerhealer.in Genetic Diagnostics Clinical Diagnostics From Bioserve CLIA Certified www.BioServe.com Current Article Ratings: Patient / Public: 4 stars 4 (1 votes) Health Professional: not yet rated Article Opinions: 0 posts A potential development in mouth cancer treatment is to be welcomed, says the organiser of the annual Mouth Cancer Action Month campaign The British Dental Health Foundation has welcomed results of studies at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University*. Research has suggested an anti-cancer compound could help treat mouth cancer, a disease which kills one person every five hours in the UK. Studies showed that the compound killed off mouth cancer cells removed from head and neck cancer patients. Currently just half of those diagnosed with mouth cancer survive beyond five years. Nearly 5,000 are diagnosed in the UK each year. The new studies - found when scientists tested a drug for its effects on blood cancer and reported in yesterday's online edition of the Journal of Pathology - will be hoped to mark a significant breakthrough. The experimental drug involved new chemotherapy agents known as histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors - which limit cell growth. Lead researcher, Einstein clinician Richard Smith, M.D. said: "This report shows that an HDAC inhibitor is effective on head and neck cancer cell lines, and that is the first step toward use in humans." Foundation chief executive Dr Nigel Carter received the report enthusiastically saying: "Such news, though very early days, is to be welcomed as the low long-term survival rate from mouth cancer makes the disease one of the deadliest. "Currently the best chance of beating the cancer comes from early detection, improving survival rates to more than 90 per cent, so it is important to follow the slogan of the Mouth Cancer Action Month campaign: 'If in doubt, get checked out.' "Though this research could prove important it is vital that dentists and health professionals continue to perform oral screenings and educate on how to look out for signs of oral cancer. Maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle also helps to prevent problems developing." The most common causes of oral cancer are smoking and drinking alcohol to excess, linked to 80 per cent of cases. Research has recently suggested that the human papillomavirus (HPV). transmitted via oral sex, could soon become most common causes of the disease. Quitting smoking, cutting down on booze and eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables lowers the risk of mouth cancer. Self-examination is another simple way of looking after yourself. Early warning signs of mouth cancer include ulcers which do not heal within three weeks, red and white patches in the mouth and unusual lumps and swellings in the mouth and neck. Mouth Cancer Action Month 2009 takes place November 1st to November 30th. For more information go online at http://www.mouthcancer.org

 Updated on:- 12-May-2009

Don’t let the credit crunch crunch your teeth With everyone having to tighten their belts during the recession, dentists are warning patients not to neglect regular check-ups in an attempt to save money. Some families are forgoing dental treatment because of its cost or because they lack insurance. However, neglecting problems in your mouth could lead to infection, which may lead to life-threatening consequences. People with HIV, chronic heart problems and type 2 diabetes should be especially careful about their hygiene and visit their dentists regular