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Mouthing your problem
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Diseases of the mouth are common among all age groups and call for proper care
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Nurture and care Infants too suffer from mouth-related ailments
An infant would not have the necessary vocabulary to express his discomfort, a young child may not be able to discern which is of importance to bring to the notice of his parents and the teenager may be too occupied in his own world to reveal his pro
blem. But then all children leave enough signs for their parents about their problems in the mouth.
If the infant is drooling and is wanting to chew on things it is likely to be dentition as during the fourth to seventh month of life the lower middle teeth (incisors) break out and cause an irritation of the gum line.
They may get cranky, irritable, cry easily, break up from sleep easily and have disturbances in appetite. They can be pacified by giving them a wet cloth or a rubber ring from the freezer which would calm them down. Or simply rubbing the gumline with a finger would be relaxing.
The first set of 20 teeth are all bound to be replaced but even till that occurs it is likely that they could be get infected due to bad dental hygiene. A child is ready to brush his teeth about the age of three when they follow the advice of spitting out the toothpaste.
Dental hygiene
Till that age parents can help in brushing. If the teeth decay and fall early or the crown is lost early it becomes a ground for infection and pain. The new set of teeth to appear would also be in a crooked fashion. One idea is to limit the chocolate intake of children and also to restrain from getting them into the habit of going to bed with a bottle of milk on.
Apart from the gum disease, periodontitis is also common amongst adolescents and teenagers probably due to fast foods etc. There is a formation of tartar on the teeth which gradually leads to erosion of the gums reaching to the structure of the teeth. The initial symptom is bleeding from the gums, discoloration of the gums, bad breath and loose gums. To prevent this it is imperative to brush teeth twice a day and when necessary to go for scaling by a dentist.
If teeth are the primary casualty, skin around the mouth is not far behind. Not uncommon is the occurrence of eruptions around the mouth filled with a watery fluid which can break and lead to secondary infection. If it recurs often one of the reasons is impetigo in which there is a streptococcal or a staphylococcal bacteria making a haven for itself.
They tend to ooze a watery fluid on breaking and is contagious too among young kids. If the blisters occur along the lining of the lips it is likely to be due to an infection by a herpes simplex virus but usually these eruptions are purple or reddish and is likely to afflict a child when their immunity is down. These may cause itching and a sort of pain while trying to eat or stretch the mouth.
If there is a shallow and painful ulcer in the buccal cavity on the tongues, gums or insides of cheeks they are aphthous or canker sores and could occur due to inadequate dietary intake or improper assimilation.
Last but not the least is an infection of the throat when the child complains of difficulty in swallowing and the usual suspect is the streptococcus bacteria. It could be associated with fever and is likely to recur.
Homoeopathic medicine can relieve the child’s discomfort and relax a parents’ mind. Chamomilla, Colocynth are good to relieve the irritation along the lines of the gums. Any disturbances in the gum lining leading to pain is relieved by Plantago. If it is due to decay of the structures around the tooth due to infection, STaphysagria and Thuja help. Blisters at the corner of the mouth due to fever are relieved by Natrum mur. If it is eruptions around the mouth, Ranunculus bulb, Sulph. are of help. Aphthous ulcers are relieved by Kali mur, Kali chlor, Ars alb etc. Hepar sulph, Mercurius relieve a throat infection and pain in the throat.
DR.VENUGOPAL GOURI
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