Dr. Sunil Subbaiah

The word colic directly refers to the colon. Colic pain is a sharp abdominal pain followed by bouts of crying usually occurring in infants below the age of one year. The pain only last for a short period of time ranging from a few weeks to a couple of months. Very few number of babies will cry endlessly indicating towards an underlying condition.

It is mainly characterized by sharp crying for supposedly no apparent reason, irregular sleep patterns, and restlessness or owing to deviation from normal postures. The apparent causes of colic pain include indigestion and negative reaction of the sensitive gut to the breast or formula milk, although no concrete cause of the state has been discovered.

Doctors often suggest home remedies such as swaddling, pacifiers, holding and comforting the baby and more frequent feedings to reduce the condition. Since it is so common among infants and relatively less harmful, no proper medication is usually given. Physicians suggest mothers to reduce the content of caffeine, alcohol or spice in their diet. Sometimes a warm bath, burping the baby or going on more frequent walks is useful. Background music draws the attention of the baby and hence drives their focus, away from the abdominal pains.

Colic pains are mainly treated by care rather than medicine. The baby is made to feel comfortable and the distress is reduced just by being around the infant. The primary care giver plays an important role in consoling the child and helping them get through the sudden pain which further plays a significant role in personality development. Colic pains are extremely short lived and probably one of the first few challenges of parenthood. They are primarily dealt with care and feeding except in extreme cases where medicinal cures such as lactase drops and simethicone drops are used to treat the abdominal pain. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a doctor and ask a free question.

Here are habits to implement today to maintain that perfect smile for you and your family tomorrow

As women at work or at home, we are responsible for the health of those around us. If you are a compassionate and caring mother, daughter, sister or wife looking after the dental health of your family becomes imperative to their well being.

Here are some useful habits that can go a long way in keeping you and your family smiling for years.

#1 go soft automatic

Rev up your brushing-use an automated tooth brush. This maybe true for not only you as a woman but for your family. Make sure you switch them to an automatic or motorized brush with soft or extra soft bristles. This works best since it takes the guesswork out of brushing and improves your and your children's technique even if they're sleepy in the morning.

#2 dental emergency kit

Keeping a dental emergency kit loaded with some essentials like a basic dental painkiller (as prescribed), clove oil, some dental floss and a toothpick (not a habit recommended by us but when things get lodged and cause pain it maybe the last resort)

#3 vitamin check

Best way of ensuring good tooth and bone health is to ensure good levels of vitamins vitamin d3, calcium especially if you're beating menopause and even iron, b complex to prevent anaemias which can be detected orally. Deficiencies of vitamins and essential minerals can make your family more susceptible to oral health problems.

#4 gift a smile

Gift your dependents a great smile be it preventive treatments for your young ones like our decay protection programme which ensures they never have to feel dental pain like we have, or the braces intervention campaign which helps guide teeth to proper positions at an early age. More questions about your young ones dental health

For the elderly who missed out on a lot of preventive dental work can now enjoy the benefits of latest technology giving them fixed teeth instead of removable dentures.

#5 start a trend-family oral health checkup

Mark a day in your calendar a public holiday or the beginning of the year a time that you can easily remember and as a family get an annual checkup to not only ensure that you do not suffer from any dental problems but also early detection of any upcoming medical issues can be done.

Dental anxiety or the fear of dentistry has been a buzz word for many to ignore and avoid trips to the dental chair unless there's a very strong pain related stimulus to do so.

While going to the dentist has never been perceived as a pleasant predicament to be in, the levels or degree to which they feel this unpleasantness, can vary widely from person to person.

There are those of us who just feel like procrastinating the appointment and then there are those of us who cannot sleep the previous night and pass out or throw up when we actually make it to the appointment.

Scientific basis underlying this is the degree of fear that you associate with the experience, so no matter whether you are just anxious or downright phobic here are a few things that'll help you keep your emotions and fear in check.

All talk no work -discussion based appointment.

If you're anxious or phobic it helps to ensure that you have all your concerns addressed before you jump on to the chair. (and so to speak the unknown)

Help your dentist identify the things that maybe difficult for you. People are usually scared of particular things like for some of maybe the sound of the drill, for others the water in their mouth so ensure you identify and communicate what's most unacceptable to you so that the dentist can be cautious and customize your treatment.

Timing is key

Fix your appointment before pain hits.

Communicate the degree of fear while making the appointment or request a tele consult to discuss your particular concerns.

Try and schedule a time when you can ensure the doctor is expecting you and won't keep you waiting so your anxiety doesn't grow.

Do your research

When choosing a practice ensure you know what their philosophy is in general and how do they manage dental pain, anxiety and phobias.

It would be advisable to ensure you are going to a practice trained and geared to manage your specific issues.

Besides being a great dental clinic with the right team and technology -the doctor needs to empathise with the reality of dental fear and should be trained to treat you in a different way then regular patients who can

Check in advance if the practice is painfree.

If you do end up doing the procedure,

Break your fear into bite sized chunks

Then ensure you choose to start with a smaller treatment and a shorter session like a cleaning or something that you don't attach fear to.

Once you have a rapport with the doctor you tend to build trust and get comfortable you can start coming in more regularly.

Do not do an internet search on your problem or talk to friends or relatives

The worst thing an anxious patient can do is tap the wrong resource for information. Please ensure that you are not self diagnosing and finding things that match your symptoms online. Things appear way more gory than they actually are on the internet! another mistake that people make often is discussing their dental problem with friends and family who further scare you with their bad experiences and your fear is compounded to a point where you now think all their cumulative dental mishaps are sure to happen to you.
Our advice is follow the above steps find the right doctor and then just sit back relax and enjoy your smile!