Dr. Alok Bhandari

The tooth may look a tiny structure, but is a very complicated one. Structurally, it has very high concentrations of minerals and vitamins, all essential for optimal dental health. Reduced or increased amounts of these substances can lead to obvious defects in the teeth, which may impair aesthetics and sometimes even the functioning of the tooth.
While calcium is one mineral that would immediately come to mind, there are a lot of other vitamins and minerals too which play a significant role both in tooth formation and in optimal dental health. Listed below are some of these, along with their role in dental health.

Vitamins:

1. Vitamin A: Often associated with vision, vitamin A is essential for production of good amount of saliva which maintains healthy mucous membranes. Reduced saliva increases predisposition to decay and gum disease and also increases bad breath.
2. Vitamin D: Needless to say, with the strength of the jaw bones, a good amount of calcium is required to boost bone mineral density.
3. Vitamin C: The gums have connective tissue fibers which help bind the tooth to the jaw bone. For good strength of the connective tissue, vitamin C is important. Therefore, vitamin C deficiency can lead to tooth mobility and even tooth loss in severe cases.
4. Vitamin B complex: There are too many people who would have popped a multivitamin to ward off mouth sores. Niacin and riboflavin especially are essential for optimal mucosal health and reduce inflammation.
5. Vitamin K: This has multiple roles to play. It helps in improving the body's healing process, blocks substances that break down bone, promotes bone strength, and reduces bleeding disorders.
6. Minerals: There is a long list of minerals that are essential for optimal dental health, as below:
7. Calcium: From strong enamel to jaw bone, calcium is extremely important for the tooth to be fully formed. Calcium deficiency can result in hypoplastic teeth that are more prone for chipping and decay.
8. Potassium: Needed to improve bone mineral density. It also works in conjunction with magnesium and prevents from the blood turning too acidic. Acidic blood can suck out calcium from teeth and bones.
9. Fluoride: Proven to be the anti-decay magic medicine, fluoride reduces the incidence of tooth decay. Fluoride gels are applied for children to promote remineralization of enamel which may have initial caries.
10. Phosphorus: Provides support to calcium and potassium in bone formation.
11. Iron: Required for keeping red blood cell count at a good level and fighting infections.
12. Iodine: This trace mineral is required for absorption of calcium and potassium that is essential for tooth formation.
13. Zinc: Naturally found in saliva, it fights against plaque formation and subsequent infections.

For optimal dental function, ensure your diet has these essential nutrients.

It is the first vaccine that the doctor will ask your child to get if he/she gets wound. Tetanus is a rare but severe condition which occurs when bacteria enter into an open wound. It can turn fatal if left untreated, so you need to follow the vaccination schedule in order to control the infection. Indulging in substance abuse (especially the ones that require injecting with syringes) increases the risk of tetanus.

Causes
This disorder is caused by the bacteria called ‘Clostridium tetani’. The bacterium is known to survive for an extended period outside the body, and is found in places such as soil and the manure of cows and horses. The bacteria enter the body through a wound, multiply rapidly and then release a toxin. This toxin causes muscle spasms and stiffness, thus affecting your nerves. The bacteria can enter the body through cuts, burns, animal bites, body piercings and eye injuries. However, this disorder is not contagious.

Symptoms
The symptoms of this disease can take 5-20 days to develop fully in the body. Your child may experience symptoms such as a rise in the body temperature, sweating, rapid heartbeats, muscle spasms and stiffening of the jaw muscles. These symptoms will worsen if left untreated, eventually leading to cardiac arrest or suffocation in some cases.

Treatment
If your child has a wound, the first step is to administer an injection of tetanus immunoglobulin. Tetanus immunoglobulin contains antibodies that effectively kill the tetanus bacteria. In case the symptoms start, then the child might need to be admitted to a hospital. Here, antibiotics and muscle relaxants are administered and breathing support may also be provided if required.

The preventive measure of this disorder is to be vaccinated against the ‘tetanus’ bacteria. The vaccine consists of five injections that are administered in a specific order. Once the entire course has been completed, it usually provides lifelong protection against the tetanus bacteria. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a pediatrician.

In many cases; divorce and separation leads not only to bad blood between the parents, but also in a child alienating himself from one parent. Insulting or belittling one parent without justification or under pressure from the other parent is known as parental alienation syndrome. Parental alienation involves one parent undermining the other and interfering with the child’s relationship with the other parent by limiting contact with them, bad mouthing them, forbidding discussion about them etc. This can have a very negative effect on the child’s emotional state.

1. Self hatred: For children, hatred is not inborn, but developed by the situations they are in. By bad mouthing a parent and teaching the child to hate the parent, the child himself is harmed. With time, he begins to internalize this hatred and believe that there is something wrong with him that made the alienated parent not want him.

2. Low self esteem: When a child is not allowed to speak his mind and has to bottle up his thoughts, he becomes socially withdrawn. Often the child begins to feel that he is the cause for the rift in the family and makes himself responsible for the separation. This intensifies with time and makes the child lose confidence in himself leading to low self esteem.

3. Lack of trust: When a child is suddenly pulled away from one parent and told how that parent is not a ‘good person’ the child is likely to feel betrayed. This creates a sense of doubt in the child’s mind and makes it difficult for him to trust other people. As he grows up, this can affect his own adult relationships as well.

4. Depression: Depression is a commonly seen in children from broken homes and this is intensified in cases of parental alienation. It is rooted in the child’s feeling unloved by either one of the parents and built up by the separation. Not being given a chance to speak about their feelings or talk about the situation makes them more depressed and they begin to withdraw into themselves. In many cases, it is noted that alienated children have strained relationships with their own children as well.

5. Substance abuse: Depression is one of the most common triggers for substance abuse. Alienated children often feels trapped and that they have no outlet to vent their feelings and frustrations. This often makes them turn towards drugs for relief and can make them victims of substance abuse.