Dr. Shruti Anand is a successful dentist and mother. She runs Pearls Dental and Aesthetic clinic in Varanasi. She is educated from BDS BVP, Pune. Dentistry requires great concentration and she relieves her patients from great pain , adversity along with managing her young son and lives in a joint family with her in laws.

In today’s world, we hardly get to eat fresh and organic food, the food industry in India is highly dependent on adulteration in products, being a developing nation.

The consequences of which impacts the overall health of the mass.

Regarding dental health, the toxic metallic compounds that are incorporated in food results in erosion,abrasion of tooth surface and leads to toxicity in some cases. A lot of oral health hazard and even in some cases oral cancer can be seen as a result of adulteration in food.

To keep one’s teeth and gums healthy we should consume food rich in Vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
To be specific Vitamin C, B12, Omega 3, lycopenes,etc

These vitamins are easily found in the common food items like tomato, lemon , fish ,spinach etc.
The most usual dental health issues that we come across locally as well as globally Caries( tooth decay), Gingivitis (bleeding gums) Periodontitis (severe damage to the gums involving bone).
But all these occurrences are the fruit of ignorance.

Even after so much advancement in the field of dentistry there is a great apprehension among the mass due to lack of knowledge, people are fearful and have many doubts related to any form of dental treatment.
I feel there is a need for introduction of basic dental care and importance of the food we consume at a very primary level, that is, in school textbooks.

The mass should understand that if you visit your dentist regularly the treatment will not only be less painful but also pocket friendly.

In India and also abroad there still a lot of mis-information and myths like, your eyes will become weak after tooth extraction or scaling will make your teeth weak,etc

We should strive to create more awareness regarding the matter.

I always press my patients to adopt our age old Ayurvedic traditions along with the modern technology to keep teeth and gums healthy. I ask them, if they are willing, to use neem sticks(Daatun)
to prevent tooth decay and have excellent gum health, this method is tried and tested and also cheap and best.
After the rise and spread of the pandemic COVID-19 one thing I am sure about is “You are what you eat”.
So let’s emulate and inculcate our ancient traditions and eat food which is organic, fresh, locally produced and benefits our society on the whole.

In these trying times I hope you are staying safe at home.

Thank you,
Dr Shruti Anand
(BDS BVP ,Pune)