Saving an Infected or Injured Primary Tooth

Primary teeth are baby teeth that do not last long. But dentists in Rockport say that despite the short life span, primary teeth play a very important role. The most important function of primary teeth is paving the way for the growth of a child’s permanent teeth.

Why not just remove the infected primary tooth?
The first question now that might arise in your mind is ‘Why don’t just remove the primary tooth’?

If the baby teeth are anyway going to fall out eventually, there’s no reason to save them when they get infected or are damaged due to an injury – that’s the most common assumption. Why should you perform a procedure on the baby teeth that are eventually going to fall out?

Well, let us bust the bubbles of assumptions and make things clear.

Primary teeth play a very important role which goes beyond just waiting for its permanent replacements to erupt. Apart from helping the child to eat and speak properly, baby teeth are responsible for preserving proper space in the mouth for permanent replacements.

If one or more baby teeth are removed from the mouth before the permanent teeth are ready to grow, the child may develop alignment issues with his/her teeth when the permanent counterparts grow in.

According to pediatric dentists in Rockport TX, premature loss of baby tooth/teeth can cause problems like:

difficulty in chewing
Proper speech development issues
Causing crooked, crowded, or misaligned teeth due to adjoining teeth moving into the space created by missing teeth
There are some instances when extracting a baby tooth is considered appropriate. The decision depends on various factors like whether the permanent tooth is ready to grow in and replace the damaged primary tooth and how deep has the infection developed.

How to save the primary tooth?
Now, it has become clear that if a primary tooth is in danger of loss due to infection, injury, or decay, then we need to do our best to save it.

The saving process gets quite tricky if the infected or the damaged part of the tooth is the inner pulp. If it was in an adult, the best way to go would be a root canal treatment which involves clearing out the diseased pulp and then fill the space with a filling.

But this is not advisable for baby tooth or young permanent tooth as the pulp plays a significant role in the child’s tooth. The nerves of the pulp and other tissues are responsible for stimulating detain growth in a child. A full root canal treatment could potentially disrupt the growth and make the tooth weak in the long run.

In children, we need to be very careful while saving a primary tooth or a young permanent tooth.

If the pulp is just slightly exposed or not at all exposed

If the pulp of the primary tooth is just slightly or not at all exposed to infection/damage, we would then simply remove the decayed tooth part outside the pulp and then apply dentin growth stimulators or antibacterial agents.

If a part of pulp is affected

If a part of the pulp is exposed to infection, then we would remove only the affected pulp as necessary to eliminate the infection through a procedure called Pulpotomy. This procedure is used if the remaining pulp is healthy or is restorable to health.

If the whole inner pulp is affected or not restorable

In this case, we need to perform Pulpectomy which involves the removal of the entire pulp. It is referred to as a baby root canal which is the last resort to save the tooth. With this procedure, the dentin growth could be stunted and the tooth will not develop as healthy as it should.

The best approach to avoid these procedures and save your tooth is the prevention of course. Make sure your child practice effective oral hygiene habits and keep up with regular dental visits.

11 Health Benefits Of Guava Fruits And Leaves

Guava is not just guava fruits that are extremely good for you. Guava is a fruit that grows in many tropical countries and is easily readily available in most stores. Due to its rich nutritional content, guava fruit is classed among the superfoods. Ripe pink guava contains about 4 times more vitamin C than an orange (citrus fruits). Wild strawberry guava has even more antimicrobial properties than common guavas. So let’s see the Guava benefits one by one.

Helpful For Hair: Guava leaves have taken the internet by storm with claims of it being a miracle solution for hair loss. It is often used in hair rinses to treat scalp issues such as dandruff. It is also rich in vitamin b and c which nourish the follicles and aids hair growth. Its benefits are many folds. It has antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties which help to maintain a healthy scalp.
Helpful For Skin: Guava can help improve your skin’s Appearance: guava fruit is rich in antioxidants and vitamins that help to keep your skin looking healthy and youthful. Studies also show that guava leaves contain compounds beneficial for your skin’s health.
Helpful For Weight Loss: Eating guava fruit regularly can help you lose weight because it is low in calories, low in fat, and high in fiber. Although guava has a delicious sweet taste that some say is like pears and strawberries, one guava contains only 37 calories.
Very Helpful For Women: Consuming guava leaf tea helps to reduce cramping in the uterine muscles and can control (menstrual cramping). Guava extracts help treat menstrual cramping. If you suffer from abdominal pain before your periods, then the properties of guava leaf can relieve cramping
Maintains Eye Health: Great source of vitamin A, not only prevents degradation eyesight but even improves eyesight.
Good For The Brain: Contains Vitamin B3 and vitamin B6 which helps in improving blood circulation to the brain and relaxing your nerves.
Control Blood Sugar: Rich in fiber content and low glycaemic index, guavas prevent the development of diabetes.
Healthy Digestive System: Guava fruits are helpful for a healthy digestive system. Excellent source of dietary fiber, helps aid in healthy bowel movements, and prevent constipation.
Keep Your Heart Healthy: High level of antioxidants and vitamins in guava help protect the heart against damage from free radicals. You can also help to reduce your risk of coronary heart disease by consuming tea made from guava leaves.
Immunity Booster: Rich source of vitamin C, helps improve immunity and protects against common infection and pathogens. One guava fruit contains 125 mg of vitamin c which is more than you need to help strengthen your immunity.
Lowers Risks Of Cancer: Lycopene content reduces the risk of prostate cancer and breast cancer.

Recognise Your Limitations And Get Rid Of Self-Doubt

Doubts are traitors that force us not to attempt activities and also goad us into losing our self confidence when we actively perform in a task. Why do we doubt ourselves? Have you noticed a small voice berate you when you do something? This is a voice that is hidden in our subconscious and it calls out to us when we attempt to do something!

Self doubt has a persuasive voice that forbids us from attempting an activity. It troubles us and does not allow us to seize any positive opportunity. Simple activities become complicated and we are unable to complete them. This is the definition of self doubt. “How to get rid of self doubt”? What kind of limitations does self-doubt pose in your life?
Self doubt can be helpful because it stops you from executing a bad idea and also makes you recognise limitations in a particular task. But the fact is that this is the main reason why we don’t go out and explore or take up a task. Self doubt stops you and subconsciously you hold back!

The fact remains that you need to overcome your “self doubt feelings” and march on ahead. “How can I get rid of self doubt”? This needs to ring in your mind time and again if you want to progress in life. Its time to move on; see how you can combat self doubt:

Stop your inner thoughts from spiralling out of control. Hurry up! Don’t waste a minute. Nip the thoughts when they arise by talking and rationalising to yourself. You can reprimand yourself in your mind, maybe even belt out a small punishment in your mind to halt the thoughts.
Remember self doubts do not permit change and restrict your actions so that you stay in your comfort zone. You need to talk to someone and get a clearer picture. Self thoughts get crowded by self-doubts. Reasonable expectations take a back seat and the thoughts become distorted. There is no harm taking assistance of another.
Do not compare yourself to others. Circumstances differ from time to time and self-doubt can pull you down when you compare yourself to others irrationally.
A journal is a great idea because it can help you stay realistically in touch with your past. Keep checking how you overcame obstacles in the past and how you can learn from them.
Write your feelings and the incidents you have gone through so that you can clearly view your achievements on paper. Map out your activities on paper to see things clearly. The pros and cons of the activity need to be listed and written. You will be able to view things with a different perspective.
Self-doubt becomes stronger if you worry about what others think about your actions. This will trigger feelings of fear. You will not be able to act if you are scared. Make your own decisions rely on your ability.
Do not listen to other people’s criticism because this triggers self-doubt. Sometimes it’s the personal insecurity of the co-worker that creates doubts. The other person’s thoughts and circumstances decide their viewpoint so make your own decisions.
There are self help lessons and pep talks in plenty on the internet. Get your dose of optimism from there so that you can get of the self-doubt bug.

Don’t Be An Impulsive And Impatient Mother, Stay Calm And Composed

Is your house vibrating with sounds of yelling and screaming at the kids? Are you frustrated because of the continuous nagging? You are definitely losing your patience and your kids are enraging you, it seems. Your simple requests are thrashed around and you are getting impatient minute by minute. You need to understand, when you are raising children, you need patience and lots of patience!

The children are going to be a reflection of you in the future. They have a string of constant demands. Some can be fulfilled whereas you have to refuse others. You have to listen to your kids with patience and calmness. This will helps them grow well and responsibly. What can you do to stay patient?

Childhood brings forth many challenges. These can make upbringing a complex task. You have to approach each growing stage with serenity and understanding. Remember, your impatience will pass on to the child. Our reactions during challenging moments are being carefully assessed by our child. They are looking at us constantly, monitoring how we behave when we are happy, sad, or angry. Your “impatient mother” outlook will not acceptable in such a case. The actions you make have to be mapped out, composed and cool. Remember that you are an example for your child. This is the best way- we doubt you will go wrong!
Impatient mothers often break down into tears or end up badgering their child when they can’t control the kid. Despair is common when you try to control the behavior of your child forcibly. Take a moment and use your power of “self-control”. Mothers are born with these qualities; all they have to do is strengthen their control and thinking!
Unnecessary mistreatment and punishment can have repercussions. Desperate cries and tantrums won’t work; rather they teach the child to lose their control during stressful situations. Explain your view point to the child with love and affection.
Kids respond well to consistent attitudes. They are keenly observing our actions. If you have asked the child to be disciplined and remain calm they expect the same from you. If you want them to stop playing and read books then you have to do the same. Don’t shout and scream rather grab a novel and read yourself. They will ape you!
Try to connect to the child’s emotional outbursts by understanding their feelings. Your empathy can work wonders.
You need to be flexible in your attitude. Rigid behavior on your part will encourage the child to be stubborn and argumentative.
Get close to your child by disciplining yourself not to be impatient. Your child will listen to reasoning if you patiently explain. Forget that you are feeling angry because of discouragement and exhaustion.
Try, try and try again till you succeed. Love is the only thing that can turn your child around. You mean well but your child does not know this. But don’t worry, one day your kid will realise your worth, just hang in three. Take it easy-one step at a time. All you have to remember is to calm down and stop getting angry. Be able to take criticism, apologise when needed, and be reasonable!