This month, we’ve caught hold of the best of 3 R’s in our field – our Responsibility as healthcare professionals, Research-based updates and dental innovations and ace orthodontist Dr Rathi!

March 6th is the day of dentists, ‘National Dentists’ Day’ tells us why. It’s a day of appreciation by patients for their dental surgeon who has relieved them of immense pain or made their smile more beautiful. Practicing dentists can make this a fun-filled day at the clinic, packed with informative activities for their faithful base of patients. They can also throw a shout on social media about this day through dental awareness videos or speak about why they chose this field.

Not all superheroes wear capes – some wear white coats! ‘Experiencing the white coat’ talks about how the doctor’s apron gifts us with compassion, confidence and proficiency. It also discusses the doctor’s and patient’s point of view on it.

The numero uno responsibility of us dentist is to reduce the patient’s symptoms, for which we regularly prescribe medication as a part of treatment. There is sufficient evidence showing increase in antimicrobial resistance to bacteria in areas with higher antibiotic utilization compared with lower antibiotic utilization areas. That’s why antibiotic prescriptions should be limited. ‘Are dentists trapped between patient’s satisfaction and unnecessary prescriptions?’ discusses this fine balance.

The second most important responsibility is to take care of patients while delivering the first. Dental anxiety in patients, especially children lead to uncooperative behaviour, posing challenges for dentists in the clinical setting. ‘Management of Dental Anxiety in Paediatric Patients’ helps us in just that.

Also read: Starting or Resuming Dental Practice? Here’s What You Need to Know!

Any wound in the body heals when platelets bind together at the site causing a blood clot which stops us from bleeding. This stimulates stem cells that help create new tissues, allowing the body to heal faster and more efficiently. Platelet Rich-Plasma works on this principle and is an advanced treatment for better wound healing and soft tissue regeneration. ‘Platelet Rich Plasma in Dentistry’ elaborates on this.

Research has linked oral cavity and systemic diseases since time immemorial. Infective endocarditis is a life-threatening microbial infection, occurring when bacteria enter the bloodstream through the mouth, gut, or skin, and replicate within the heart, usually adhering to one of the valves. Invasive dental procedures cause bacteraemia, which can be complicated by infective endocarditis in those at increased risk of the disease. ‘Reducing risks of bacterial endocarditis from dental procedures with oral time released xylitol’ discusses how an oral adhering disc of Xylitol can cause sustained drug delivery and control oral bacteria prior to dental procedure as a beneficial preventive modality.

Past centuries have given us major innovations and advancements in dentistry. ‘A century of innovations in dentistry’ provides retrospective glances over the ones which changed the face of the field.

DentalReach is proud to collaborate with Dr Akshay Rathi, proficient dentist and Gold medallist in Orthodontics with 24 years of experience. He has an exclusive orthodontic practice and is consulted at various clinics in Mumbai & Oman. Dr Rathi is a course director of OrthoTrain, a multi-module course in Clinical Orthodontics for general dentists since 2005. He has also introduced more mentors with similar courses in other branches – Dr Maqbool Ansari – PerioTrain, Dr Prashant Shirude – CompoTrain, Dr Ashwini Bhalerao – SurgiTrain, Dr Moez Khakiani – ProsthoTrain and Dr Sujit Pardeshi – DentXL soft skills. Dr Rathi has shared with DentalReach how to acquire anchorage from bone and not teeth for orthodontics, Pre-prosthetics and interdisciplinary cases using micro implants. Watch the video here – (insert link in bold)