Emergency Dental Procedures

Attending To Emergency Dental Procedures During COVID19 Outbreak

Various dental associations around the world have asked dentists to suspend any dental procedures unless emergency in their dental clinics. Most dentists around the globe are therefore only carrying out emergency procedures which need to be carried out immediately. The precautions to be taken by any dentist (and member of staff present during the treatment procedure) who is treating a patient are as follows:

• Place multiple advisories and signs within and around the clinic to educate patients about hygiene practices such as hand wash procedure, coughing or sneezing etiquette, disposal of used tissues etc.

Always ask the patient about recent travel history outside or within the country. Include this in the patient records.

Watch out and question regarding the various symptoms of COVID19, however mild it may be and record this in the patient chart.

Take a note of all vitals of the patient including body temperature and re-schedule the appointment if a COVID19 infection is suspected from the history, symptoms or clinical findings. Immediately inform the concerned governing authorities in case of a suspected patient.

Get detailed contact information of the person and record this in their charts.

Physical barriers such as a glass partition should be installed in the reception, waiting areas, doctor’s cabin etc.

Wear the appropriate PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) . This includes a surgical or N95 mask , eye protective goggles, face shield, disposable gown etc.

Use a rubber dam isolation wherever possible. This will reduce chances of exposure to infectious agents.

Always use a high speed evacuation to get rid of the aerosols produced during the treatment procedure.

Autoclave sterilize all your instruments and hand piece following a dental procedure.

Prior to commencing a treatment, make the patient rinse their oral cavity with 1.5% of hydrogen peroxide

Fumigate the clinic after the procedure when possible and thoroughly disinfect all surfaces in the clinic including the public waiting area, door knobs or handles, side tables, dental chair etc using a regular disinfectant.

Also remember that

• Any patient with a suspected COVID19 infection SHOULD NOT be treated for any dental emergency without involving the patient’s treating doctor and informing the concerned governing authorities. These patients will have to be treated in controlled environments such as a COVID19 treating hospital which has the necessary resources and precautions in place.

• Any staff or doctor showing mild  to severe symptoms of the infection SHOULD NOT report to work and should seek medical assistance.

• Immediate, safe disposal of any used PPEs, tissues, patient drapes, patient blood, saliva, extracted tooth etc using clinical waste disposal protocols.

• Strict hand wash and hand hygiene protocols before and after treatment.

For more info visit dental care in Chennai and Bangalore - https://curie.health/

Dental Issues

COMMON DENTAL ISSUES AND WHAT YOU CAN DO AT HOME DURING QUARANTINE

    Around the world, many of us are staying indoors and maintaining social distancing to fight against the COVID19 outbreak. This also means that we will not be able to venture outside the house unnecessarily. Also, most dental clinics are closed for most treatments apart from emergencies. Therefore, many of us might be wondering what to do when you face a dental problem.

Common issues that you might face include:

Adults:

Tooth pain:

If you experience mild to moderate tooth pain, it would be best to take an over the counter pain killer such as Paracetamol. If the pain does not subside, you might need anti-inflammatory medications such as Ibuprofen. However, it would be best to contact your dentist or doctor over phone to get a prescription especially if you have any underlying illness.

Gum infection/ pain: 

sometimes, your gums might get inflamed in a particular area due to a local infection. The source of this infection could commonly be a tooth with a cavity or a foreign object impacted in that area. You can usually make out if a foreign object such as a food particle or fish bone is stuck in between the tooth as it will cause a pressure like ache in the area, especially on biting. In such cases, use your tooth brush or floss to clean thoroughly in between the teeth and use a mouthwash (or salt+ warm water) to rinse your mouth well.

This can be followed by or following the intake of a pain killer such as paracetamol, depending on the amount of pain and inflammation in that area. If the cause was an impacted foreign body, the pain will settle on it’s own in a few hours. For all other causes of pain, take a paracetamol and check if symptoms are improving. If the symptoms worsen or pain is severe despite the painkiller, contact your dentist for further advice.

Loose teeth:

If a tooth is mobile or on the verge of falling off, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE TOOTH AT HOME. The bleeding might never stop and it might cause other serious issues. Therefore, call your dentist immediately or visit a nearby hospital that can remove it immediately with all the necessary safety equipment in place.

Children:

Teething pain:

If your child is experiencing teething issues, best home remedy would be to apply gentle pressure over the baby’s gum pads using a clean, cold finger or chilled spoon. Teething toys might also bring some relief. Over the counter local anesthetic gels can be used if the above do not work. Call your dentist or doctor who will prescribe you a painkiller if the pain is severe and none of the home remedies are giving any relief.

Trauma to a tooth:

Accidental trauma to a tooth is very common in children and especially at this time when everyone is at home, the chances of a child obtaining an injury to the tooth might not be unexpected. For minor trauma leading to chipping of the tooth, one can just wash the mouth with water and leave the tooth as it is for the time being. Pain killers can be taken if necessary and the tooth can be treated at a later stage if the child is comfortable.

However, if a tooth has completely come off from it’s socket (avulsed), try to wash the tooth and replace the tooth in the socket while applying a constant pressure to hold it in place for a few mins. If not, place the tooth in saliva, or milk or saline and contact your doctor immediately as it can be treated as a ‘Dental Emergency’.

The above is just a guide to help you to have an idea on the possible home remedies in the event of a dental issue. Remember, if a tooth needs to be removed as an emergency, it will be done in a hospital set up with complete safety precautions and personal protective equipment (PPE).

However, it is best that you contact a dentists in chennai through https://curie.health/  to get a personalised consultation and treatment advice!

What We Can Do During Quarantine

What We Can Do During Quarantine..

For a lot of us, this is the first time we are staying indoors for a long duration. This period of isolation from the outside world can be very stressful. Here are few things we can do to utilise the time wisely:

Invest time and energy on your health:

Many of us ignore ourselves and our general health as we are caught up with our busy lives. However, this time at home would be the best to revaluate our health and take active measures to make it better.  Start a home workout or new diet regime and stick to it closely. By the end of the social distancing time, you might be ready to adapt the new changes as part of your lifestyle.

Improve your mental health:

A lot us might not be willing to accept the fact that we might be suffering silently from a mild to severe mental health issue. This could be stress, depression, self pity, lack of self confidence or a myriad of other unnecessary or unwarranted emotions within us. This would be the best time to identify your issue and start taking active steps to improve it. This can be achieved by medication, online counselling, soul searching or even just talking to someone close to you about it. Psychology says the first step to find a solution to a problem is by accepting you have one.  So let’s do it!

Focus on your work:

For those of us in jobs, we need to focus on doing constructive task everyday from home, depending on the nature of the job. For jobs that do not allow you to have a possibility of working from home, it is essential that you keep yourself occupied either by reading or studying material that is related to your type of work.

Do things around the house:

This would be the best time to focus on household chores, learn or improve your cooking skills, do some DIY (Do it yourself) projects to improve the house and also note down essential things that you might want to change/buy in the future.

Learn or practice a hobby or pass time that interests you.

Above all, it is important to focus on our health and wellbeing.  Experts say that upto 80% of those affected by corona virus will not show any symptoms depending on their immunity. Ways you can build immunity are:

• Exercise at least 30 mins in the day
• Sleep at least 7-8 hours
• Reduce stress
• Following a healthy diet
• drinking adequate water
• Taking vitamin supplements
• Focus on improving mental health, oral health etc

What you can do to improve oral health:

• Brush for 2 mins twice daily
• Use a medium hardness tooth brush unless advised otherwise by your dentist
• Use floss and mouth wash regularly
• Avoid excessive consumption of sugars and unhealthy foods
• Rinse your mouth with water after every meal
• Drink adequate water
• Use only a pea sized amount of a fluoridated tooth paste etc.

Dentist visits that are not an emergency have been discouraged by WHO and other health organisations. Therefore, if you develop an emergency such as tooth pain, jaw swelling or your child has a dental emergency such as a broken tooth, contact your dentist in chennai for an opinion straight

What Dentists Can Do During Quarantine?

As dentists around the world have been warned to be at a greater risk of getting the COVID19 infection, dental clinics around the world have shut down as a precautionary measure and are only offering emergency dental services. This could put a lot of dentists (like many other professionals) into a fair amount of financial or emotional stresses. Here are things you could do to spend the time wisely and put the current situation at the back of your minds.

Improve your skills and knowledge:

There are a lot of online short courses that you would have always wanted to do but never found the time for. Now is the time to motivate yourself to sign up for these courses. They’ll keep you occupied and also enrich you with new knowledge when you resume your services.

Improve your clinic:

This is the best time to write down what are all the problem areas or areas that need an advancement in your clinic. This could be referring to technology, equipment, resource, service or employee. List down all changes you would like to make and find a right time during or after this time of social distancing to execute it.

Improve your clinic’s brand value:

1. This is the best thing to work on during this time and a lot of ways to achieve this is now available in this tech savvy world. You can do one of the below:
2. Invest in a new, user friendly, highly efficient dental clinic management software like Curie.Health. This will help not only with connecting better with your patients by sending SMS reminders, emails etc., it will also help appointment bookings to be made easily, help with your lab service inventories and communication, ease billing and payments and also help you manage and stay in contact with your clinic from anywhere in the world.
3. Focus on marketing services and plans and consider saving some amount of income every month to invest in marketing activities. Digital and offline marketing is the best way to publicise your clinic’s brand name and attract new clients to your clinic. These plans and services are best executed by professional marketing professionals and this can be done by outsourcing this activity to a provider such as Curie. Health.
4. Constantly stay in touch with your existing clients even in times such as this, so as to reassure them, assist them in emergencies and build their trust. This will make them always come back to you and not look for alternate options.

Join dental networks

that will empower you and uplift you with the best advises and assures in tough times such as this. You will be able to share your knowledge and gain some from others in the network. You can join Curie Health’s network on https://curie.health/

Lastly, stay positive as these trials and hard times are only temporary and you will soon be back on your feet.

Visit https://curie.health/ for more info!

COVID19, CORONA VIRUS FAQs

What is COVID-19/CORONAVIRUS?

According to the WHO, Corona virus is a group of infectious viruses that cause a contagious disease called ‘Covid19’ when it infects a living host (E.g.: Humans).

What is a virus?

It is an infectious, microscopic nucleic acid molecule surrounded by a protein coat and that can multiply in a living host such as a human or an animal.

How bad is the current COVID19 situation?

According to WHO’s publication on 18 March, 2020, globally, 191127 cases and 7807 deaths have been reported around the world. These statistics are changing every minute.

As of India, WHO confirms a total of 137 patients and 3 deaths that have been reported as of 18 March, 2020.

 In Tamil Nadu, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 2 cases have been reported as of 19 March, 2020. Out of the two, one case has been treated and discharged.

Source: World Health Organisation (WHO)

When do I get symptoms and what are the symptoms of COVID19?

According to the WHO, symptoms of Covid19 may take up to 14 days to start, following an infection (Incubation period).

The most common symptoms include a fever, dry cough (cough without sputum), generalised tiredness and in severe cases, breathing difficulty (1 in every 6 people).

However, other flu like symptoms such as runny nose, sore throat, nasal congestion, body pain, diarrhoea etc. have also been reported.

Many others do not experience symptoms and up to 80% of the infected people recover fully without any extensive treatment.

Who is at a higher risk of COVID19?

Elderly population, people with high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes or similar comorbidities and those with decreased immunity (E.g. Cancer patients, HIV patients, kidney failure patients, transplant patients etc.) should be extremely cautious as there is a higher chance of them developing serious illness and associated complications.

How does this virus spread?

According to the CDC, the main method of spread of virus is

• Person to person contact: The most common method is by close proximity (within 6 feet) to an infected person and by droplet infection following coughing or sneezing.
• In some instances, a person who has been infected but is not yet symptomatic (or with mild symptoms) can spread the infection to others around them.
• Contact with contaminated surfaces and objects: The Corona Virus is believed to survive on various surfaces for up to 3 days and any contact with these surfaces can lead to a possible infection.
• Community spread: The virus can survive in air and hence, spreads within the community without any direct contact with an infected person or object.
• At present, infection spread through pet dogs or cats is not reported apart from a single isolated case in Hong Kong where Corona virus was found in the fur of a dog. WHO also advises people to avoid visiting any live animal markets, to avoid touching surfaces contaminated by animals, touching raw meat or consuming raw meat.

What preventive measures should I take?

• Hand washing with soap and using a hand sanitizer that contains more than 60% alcohol.
• Coughing or sneezing onto a bent elbow.
• Maintaining at least a 3 foot distance from others.
• Avoiding unnecessary touching of your face with your hand
• Building your immunity by having a good diet, improving sleep patterns, having a healthy diet and reducing stress. This can help ease recovery if infected.
• Social Distancing and Self Isolation are the two measures that have been suggested all around the world. By doing so, chances of the infection spreading widespread within a short duration of time is reduced, thereby flattening the ‘epidemiological Curve’ which represents the number of cases over a period of time.

Reducing the rate of infection is essential so that healthcare facilities and organisations have a longer period of time to tackle the illness and prevent spread to vulnerable population. It also allows the healthcare services to function within capacity limits, preventing the possibility of insufficient treatment or resources to those who need it.

When should I suspect COVID19 infection?

If you are not having any travel history or history of contact with an infected person and not showing any symptoms, self-quarantine for up to 14days is advisable. During this period, development of one or more symptoms should warrant a visit to the nearest health-care provider. The doctor would assess you and refer you for a COVID19 test if required.

However, in the event of travel history or exposure to an infected person, with or without symptoms, you can visit a doctor who might advice you to have a COVID19 test.

In case of an elderly person or someone with immunity deficiencies, be vigilant of any symptoms and visit the doctor immediately in case of symptoms or breathing difficulties.

Are there any medications I should take when I get symptoms? Will antibiotics be useful?

According to the WHO, antibiotics do not have any effect on the infection and therefore should not be misused for prevention or treatment.

If symptoms develop, best option is to visit the hospital before self-treating. New reports from WHO also suggest that pharmacy available pain killers such as Ibuprofen or similar pain killers can aggravate symptoms of COVID19. Therefore, it is best not to self-medicate.

Is there a treatment or vaccination for COVID19?

As of now, there is no known drug specific to COVID19. Treatment is symptomatic and with the use of several anti-viral medications which will be prescribed to you by the doctor. Vaccination is still under investigation and has not come to the market yet.

Does wearing a mask prevent COVID19?

Wearing a mask when you are not infected, not symptomatic or looking after an infected person is not advised by the WHO. The disposable masks are only for a single use and multiple use of these masks could pose a threat by itself.

Also, there is a shortage of masks worldwide and those who genuinely require it (healthcare workers, infected people) might not be able to buy it, if there is unnecessary usage of these masks.

Hand hygiene should be followed before and after the use of masks and the correct methods of wearing the mask should be followed.

Also, the use of multiple masks should be avoided.

Smoking, Alcohol consumption and COVID19

According to the WHO, smoking or excessive alcohol consumption is not advisable and may weaken your immune system.

What should I do if I am from Chennai and I suspect COVID19 infection?

In Chennai, The Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital is the first place that should come to your mind in case of a suspected COVID19 infection.

Once you go to the hospital, a doctor would consult you, take a detailed history and clinically examine you. He would then order for the COVID19 test if warranted. A nasopharyngeal swab is then taken and sent in for testing to the concerned lab (King’s Institute in Guindy is one of the govt. approved labs). The swab might take less than 5-10mins and is not painful.

Other tests such as an X-Ray or CT chest, blood tests, sputum samples, aspirate samples etc.  might also be taken to confirm the diagnosis.

Visit curie health - https://curie.health/ for more info!

Oral health and Hygiene for your child

Oral health and Hygiene for your child

Good oral hygiene plays a major role on the overall health of the child. Poor oral hygiene leads to a higher risk of dental infections, cavities which might in turn lead to difficulty in eating food and chewing certain types of foods and ultimately indigestion. This is in addition to a possible issue with the speech, lower self-esteem of the child, misalignment of the permanent teeth etc. to name a few. 

A child’s tooth is less mineralised compared to that of an adult and is hence more susceptible to dental cavitation. This combined with the ill effects of a sugary diet and poor oral habits can significantly increase the risk of dental caries in the permanent teeth. Habits such as thumb sucking, mouth breathing or tongue thrusting can further increase the risk of having misaligned permanent teeth.

Here are some dental facts and advice based on the age of the child:

(0-6) years

Refer previous blog 

https://curiedothealth.wordpress.com/2020/03/17/oral-health-and-hygiene-practices-for-babies/

 to read more on this.

(6-16) years

Facts:

All permanent teeth excluding the wisdom teeth will be erupted by this time.

Advice:

• Children should be encouraged to brush twice daily using a fluoridated tooth paste, using circular movements of the brush.
• Flossing between teeth should be made a habit.

• Newly erupted permanent teeth commonly have very deep ‘pits’ and ‘fissures’ and hence filling these with a ‘Sealant’ by the dentist might be essential to avoid dental caries at a later stage.

• If your child is having misaligned teeth, the best age to consult a dentist would be around 7 years. Around this age, many issues involving the jaws or jaw orientation can be corrected without surgery. ‘Functional Appliance’ is the name given to these correctional devices.  

(17-21) years:

Facts:

The 4 (Upper 2+ Lower 2) wisdom tooth usually erupts between 7-21 years

Advice:

• Wisdom teeth rarely cause too much discomfort when it has enough space to erupt.
• Impacted wisdom teeth result from a lack of space in the jaw to erupt and hence leads to extreme discomfort and pain depending on the severity.
• Visit a dentist if you experience extreme pain. Your dentist would suggest an X-Ray to determine the position of your tooth in the jaw and depending on the space available and the chances of it erupting, a minor surgical extraction of the wisdom tooth might be suggested.
• Failure to remove an impacted wisdom tooth may lead to tumours such as ‘Ameloblastoma’ later in life.

Consult your dentist by booking your appointment on https://curie.health/

oral health and hygiene practice for your child

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Dental Care During Pregnancy

Dental Care During Pregnancy

Dental care during pregnancy is of great importance and is vital for a healthy mother and baby. Hormonal changes or fluctuations in a pregnant woman can greatly influence the health and ecosystem of her oral cavity. There is an increased deposition of plaque in the oral cavity during pregnancy and the gums become increasingly sensitive to these deposits.

Let us see a small depiction of changes in your oral cavity:

As seen above, pregnancy might lead to a variety of oral health conditions which require careful monitoring and timely intervention by a dentist.

Things to remember:

Pre-Pregnancy:

Best practice is to visit a dentist before getting pregnant to ensure that you have a healthy oral cavity and to avoid complications and preventable procedures during the pregnancy. A dentist might do a basic scaling, polishing, decayed tooth fillings or wisdom tooth removal prior to the pregnancy.

Any couple planning for an IVF procedure should also mandatorily undergo a complete dental evaluation and treatment. This is advised and initiated by all IVF doctors before commencing the treatment.

During Pregnancy: Visiting a dentist is crucial during the pregnancy to avoid any of the above-mentioned complications. Also, any elective procedures are usually postponed to after the pregnancy to avoid unnecessary X -Rays, medications and pain.

However, all emergency procedures such as a tooth extraction or root canal treatment in case of severe pain or infection, are carried out immediately and utmost precautions are taken to safeguard both mother and baby. This could be by wearing protective lead apron during an X-Ray or avoiding drugs contraindicated in a pregnant woman and making the procedure pain free.

A dentist will also give you the right advice on oral hygiene habits such as brushing and flossing techniques and will suggest the right diet and nutrition for you and your baby. This might be a suggestion on a fluoride toothpaste or a calcium, vitamin supplement.

Morning sickness might also have effects on the teeth as mentioned in the flowchart. To is best to avoid brushing immediately after vomiting and rather stick to washing your mouth with plain water.

Post-Pregnancy: Any pending procedures not undertaken will be completed and dentists will prescribe only the medications safe during breast feeding if needed.

Curie is a Dental Clinic Care Network. Adding more dentists and serving new patients everyday

Dental care during pregnancy

Is Marketing Important for A Dental Clinic?

Is Marketing Important for A Dental Clinic?

With the drastic increase in the number of dental clinics every day, one can find up to 5 dentists in the same street if you are based in India! Due to this scenario, having a dental clinic but not taking an effort to build its brand name or engage in marketing, can be disastrous. Even with the best skills, advanced technologies, best ambience or best offers, one might still be struggling to attract any patients!

This is where the importance of marketing is evident. Key advantages include:

Increasing new patient foot falls into your clinic:

Showcase your clinic’s highlights on online and offline platforms and give people the chance to know what you can offer them. Research shows that more than 50% of patients (in metros or tier 1 cities) coming for a dental treatment find a clinic on the internet.

Building a USP- Unique Selling Proposition and a Brand name:

Marketing your clinic’s key feature increases USP and builds your brand value. Studies show that a person remembers a brand name only after getting familiarised with the name more than 3 times. Marketing will be the easiest way to achieve this.

Retain existing patients by forming a one to one relationship with them:

Build strong, healthy relationships with your existing patients by constantly interacting with them. This can be in the form of sending personalised birthday messages to your patients, sending them reminders of their appointments or reviews, sending frequent offer codes or coupons etc.

Identify patient flow trends:

Digital marketing helps to analyse where majority of your patients are coming from and target these areas for future strategies. Without identifying your target areas, it is not possible to carry out effective

Marketing Strategies:

Online Marketing:

This includes web page designing, writing Blogs, social media presence, using WhatsApp messaging, online Ads, Improving SEOs (Search Engine Optimisation), bulk SMS etc.

Offline Marketing:

This includes Pamphlets, posters, discount coupons, news paper cut outs, phone calls etc.

Despite the fact that online marketing is widely popular, offline marketing still attracts almost 90% of your clientele based on your location. Therefore, depending on the strategic location of your dental clinic, it is important to come up with an individualised, custom made marketing strategic plan involving both online as well as offline methods to market your clinic’s brand name.  

The best way to go about this would be to hire professionals like us at Curie Health to help with your marketing so you can focus on rendering quality clinical services. Visit dental network in chennai to know more.