Children Grown Up: Adolescent Nocturnal Enuresis

Urinating while asleep, also called nocturnal enuresis, is common in children. It is messy and upsetting, however since it is uncontrollable, it is simply a sign of a developing body becoming accustomed to sleeping without diapers. Nocturnal enuresis in teenagers and adolescents, though, is a different matter. It may be worrisome for parents; it can be embarrassing for older children, and is considered a physical symptom of deeper troubles in a teenager or adolescent.

What causes nocturnalenuresis? To understand it, one needs to understand how the kidneys and their corresponding hormones work together. One hormone in particular, the antidiuretic hormone, controls the release of water in the body. The antidiuretic hormone is involved with a hormone cycle that ensures that the bladder will not be full until the morning; this in turn ensures that a person will urinate upon awaking.

However, this antidiuretic hormone cycle is not entirely operational in babies. It will develop in older children; in a few cases, it will be stable at the end of puberty; in particularly rare cases, the cycle will not be established at all. These uncommon scenarios are what may cause adolescent bedwetting.

Another means of controlling urination is via the brain, which, for its part, controls the body's capability to awaken before urination. In children, this is learned by the brain, as it becomes more and more aware of the body's hormonal cycles. This learning process, however, can be interrupted by certain factors such as emotional or physical stress. Such stress can be as mild as forcing children to urinate when they are not fully awake. Other contributing factors can be more damaging, such as physical or sexual abuse.

If your teenager or adolescent wets his or her bed, you might want to consider one of the following treatments and therapies.

The first consideration in teenage enuresis is the body's inability to develop the antidiuretic hormone cycle, or the brain's inability to identify it. Your healthcare professional may suggest antidepressants such as Nortriptyline and Amitriptyline, both of which can treat enuresis for up to three or four months.

Desmopressin, another common enuresismedicine, mimics the role of the antidiuretic hormone, and can be taken when diagnosis points to poor hormonal development as the cause of enuresis.

The second consideration when treating teenage enuresis is the brain's inability to both recognize the antidiuretic hormone cycle, and to control it with respect to time and sleep. To address this, psychiatrists advocate training machines such as the bedwetting alarm. This nighttime gadget can aid teenagers to wake up when they first feel moisture, and that they must urinate. Ideally, this will lead to the body finally recognizing when the bladder is full, and can curb teenage enuresis.

The third consideration may be the body's total inability to control enuresis, which is quite rare. In this case, doctors advise using diapers or pads, which will help reduce the discomfort associated with enuresis. Although this lessens the shame, it will not stop enuresis entirely, and additional measures should be taken to stop it.

The last consideration may be the brain's inability to control urination or identify the antidiuretic hormone cycle because of psychological issues. Such issues may be brought about by stress; if this stress stems from physical or sexual abuse, your child may refuse to talk to you about it. Psychiatric care and therapy is advised in such situations; although counseling may not directly target the problem of teenage enuresis, it may give you and your child closure on any issues that are brought to light.

Teenage or adolescent enuresis is a treatable disorder, and it needs both patience and consideration on the part of the concerned parent. If your adolescent is wetting his or her bed, take him or her to your physician, and have the problem diagnosed and treated. In no time, your adolescent will no longer need to deal with the embarrassment and messes associated with their condition.

Elizabeth Radisson

Four Affecting Factors of Adolescent Self Esteem

Self esteem is important factor for everyone, especially for an adolescent, in their social life and personal life. Here you will know the four affecting factors of self esteem and how to improve self esteem by deal with those affecting things. As In their adolescent period, they grow the base of self- esteem for full life. We may be known that there are many factors that affect adolescent self esteem. Children begin to develop self esteem while very young. Parents, friends, teachers and the television all the surroundings of the children contribute a lot, without knowing, in their mental development.

Self Physical Image factor- is one of the major factors that affect an adolescent's self esteem. I am saying, it doesn’t depend on how he or she looks like it depends on what is the concept of beauty he or she has or way one thinks about his or her body image is. Children from very childhood and onwards may feel the society prefer good looking people or value them more than others. For instance, kids at the same age prefer to associate with better looking kids rather than those with deformities or physical problems. And we know about school Teasing and bullying on those time can be huge harmful for adolescent self esteem.

Family Support – family support and encouragement can actively shape adolescent self esteem. Sometime, It may looks like adolescents are embarrassed by displays of affection from their family members and relatives but these display in reality play a vital role in keeping them well grounded and positive in themselves. Lot of communication from family members, parents and brothers or sisters, can help to provide a good base for expressions of emotional feelings like happiness, sorrow, grief and anger. Giving children the necessary love and caring that they need and it will prevent boost his or her self esteem in their adolescent time. .

Include yourself in Activities that you are good at or like to do-Taking part or having an active role outside of lessons is good for building adolescent self esteem. Maybe you like to dance, play football, whatever you like you should include yourself. This will encourage them to relate and come together with other adolescents. This also gives kids a chance to stand out in something, which can be very good for adolescent self esteem. Find something that interests you and try it out to see if you can excel in it and we should remember not to be easily discouraged by initial failures.

Get An Idea Of Who You Are-it may be a hard job for adolescents as they are just figuring out how to deal with adolescence things. But we can get an idea of our goal in life and start from there. In adolescent time, you may have definite likes and dislikes as well as some clear idea of what you want to be or what interests you most. Having a clear goal in life is great benefit for not only for adolescent but also for anybodies self esteem . By the way, it maybe some radical idea for Adolescents to meditate to know themselves well ,but this will definitely calm down their dysfunctional emotions or Will able to handle emotional stress well And will be figure it out who really they are.

Maybe, some adolescent having problem with their self esteem but we should remember one thing in mind change is possible whatever our present situation is. I wish you good luck in this journey of having better self esteem for better life.

Shahriyar

Adolescent Obesity - The Blame Game

The prevalence of weight issues among the tweenage generation has prompted debates between schools, parents, food giants and kids. The blame game is often played while our youth continue to tip the scales. This hot topic of Adolescent Obesity is the subject for the current episode of Teen Talk, an online video commentary feature hosted by former Nickelodeon hostess Chloe Dolandis. Teen Talk is a subsidiary of Kidfluence, an up-and-coming television show and Web site for today's youth, tackling topics critical to the development of today's teenagers.

Obesity used to be looked at as only an adult issue, but with the rising statistics of overweight kids, this is a far greater problem than imagined. The fact that more kids today are having radical gastric bypass surgery only reinforces the necessity to explore this issue. Schools often serve as the scapegoat because of their documented unhealthy offering of food choices. Yet parents can set bad examples themselves by indulging in junk food and failing to closely monitor their child's eating habits. At such impressionable years such as the tweenage ones, the responsibility for maintaing healthy lifestyles for our kids is a collaborative effort.

Some ways to combat obesity include healthy diet and exercise, as I'm sure you know. You can always grab a healthy snack instead of sugary, processed foods. Also, make your exercise routine fun- get creative! Play Dance Dance Revolution for an hour and work up a sweat!

In this current Teen Talk episode, Chloe presents the facts about adolescent obesity, analyzes what parents, schools and kids should be doing and offers a few tips. Teen Talk, which caters to today's technology savvy teenagers, is meant to be highly interactive. Viewers are encouraged to send e-mail and comments on the blog (www.teentalkblog.tv).

Teen Talk is now airing on the Internet via the web sites Kidfluence.tv, YouTube, Google Video, Yahoo Video and myspace.

Steve Ruprecht

Adolescent Bodybuilding: Is It Too Early To Start?

Adolescent bodybuilding is a great way to instill discipline and start out on the road to a healthy lifestyle at a young age. In contrast to bodybuilding for the older crowd, adolescent bodybuilding has a completely different set of rules; reps and sets change, as well as the amount of weight, frequency of workouts, even goals and motivation.

Home Many Days

Adolescent bodybuilding workouts should not be undertaken more than three days a week to start. In fact, three days is ideal in adolescent bodybuilding. Once you gain more experience you can lift four or five days a week. It is important to stick to this schedule in adolescent bodybuilding to avoid over exertion. Yes, the younger you are the easier you bounce back, but you should avoid this urge for at least a while.

Length of Session

One hour should be plenty, but no more than 90 minutes. You might be young, but you are not invincible. If you push your body to hard it can set you back on your road to success by forcing you to take extra days off to recover.

Reps, Sets and Weights

These are probably the most difficult aspects of adolescent bodybuilding to establish. This is because you will have to experiment and see what works best for you. What works best for some may not always work for everybody else. Play around with weight, sets and reps to see what works best. This can take a few months so be patient and do not get discouraged. Every young person interested in adolescent bodybuilding has gone through the same process.

Goal Setting

As with any form of bodybuilding, in adolescent bodybuilding you should have goal. These goals should be reasonable and achievable in a short period of time, and by reasonable, I do not mean aim to look like the Incredible Hulk within six weeks. A good form of motivation is to take a picture of yourself in a bathing suit as you undertake your healthy lifestyle choice and compare your body to it as you begin to excel at your adolescent bodybuilding program.

Rewards

The older crowd of bodybuilders can appreciate the rewards of a longer life span, but for those in the adolescent bodybuilding domain the rewards are more along the lines of impressing the opposite sex and feeling good about themselves. There is nothing wrong with this. Self-esteem is important at this age in a young person’s life, so if adolescent bodybuilding helps accomplish this, then great. What really matters (good health, discipline and self control) will come later.

The Muscle Nerd, Jeff Anderson

Growing Up Is Fun But Really Stressful, By An Adolescent

College is one of the most important phases in any person’s life. There are some who enjoy these days by going to parties and watching movies and simply enjoy themselves, there are others who have to work and provide for to a family at the same time. This period, like any other period, in a person’s life goes through in phases and with each phase comes an increasing level of stress. Some stress is good and is necessary, it is termed as Eustress. It is the minimum level of stress that keeps us motivated to do our best and thus is positive in nature. Some stress is negative and its constancy can cause us much harm, this kind of stress is known as Distress.

The first change that occurs with college is the absolute freedom we receive, and we are not always use to it and get carried away in the process. Important decisions are to be made, like what courses to choose and what career to follow? Whether to live at home or in a hostel? Students have to develop an ethical value system that is best suited to them. Once the courses are chosen, the most common reason for stress is grades. The students put themselves under a lot of pressure to perform better, the professors often tend to side the ones who score high marks rather than focusing on how much the students learn, the pressure to perform together with the pressure to impress could lead to a lot of stress. Students who enter college on scholarship programs or those from low socio economic status who have the responsibility of caring and providing for the family, suffer the most. Some of them even take up part time jobs that leave them no time to relax.

Next in line are friends. Friends are the most important part of any ones life. Friends give our life meaning and to some extent help us find our inner self. Making new friends and adjusting with their lifestyles is never easy. Sometimes it may lead to change in the value system. In the shoes of a non-smoker, “Do I really need to smoke to fit in the group?” Sometimes individuals change their entire perspective on life. Deciding on giving in to peer pressure or to stick with your own values and judgments often lead to conflict and stress.

Love is another important change in an adolescent’s life. There are different kinds of lovers. There are some who feel love is a game. Some feel it is something which would make them cool. Some are just flirting and then there are those who think love is eternal and forever. With these different perspectives sometimes different kinds of lovers get together. This could lead to a lot of stress. From one of my heart broken friends I got this, “My boyfriend thinks love is just another game in life. If you are strong enough you will win the game or else you are a looser. Sex is just another parameter just like cloths or shoes in life.” Many times sex is misunderstood and misused as love. Sometimes girls feel pressurized into being physical on the demand of their boyfriends. Sometimes it can lead to date rape or sexual harassment also. Most girls get too embarrassed to talk about it or seek much needed help; this resistance is very harmful to their mental and physical health.

With love and relationships come break-ups. Breakups are never easy. It can lead to self doubt, feeling depressed, and can sometimes also lead to a negative and poor self image. By the age of 17, most of the college students have had their heart broken and fallen in love all over again. By the time they are 18, they face different kind of stressors. Now they are official adults and have far more responsibilities. There is a conflict inside of them, as they are not children and not totally adults. They have to find socially accepted ways to express themselves.

This is a period where adolescents usually face identity confusion. They are in the process of making an individual identity based on their on values. Sometimes these values go against the values of their parents and family systems. In a typical Indian society, there are a lot of gender related stressors. Adolescent girls are under the pressure of getting married, and many times against their will. She is expected to perform all the house hold functions and duties and has to manage her education and homely duties which can be very stressful. She is expected to be humble and respectful and is many times not allowed to speak her mind. She is dominated by the wishes of her father and is given very little freedom. On the other hand the male child is encouraged to go out, and make a living. They are given more freedom than women.

These are few stressors that my surveys conclusively indicated. There are far too many that are faced by the adolescents of today. The stressors faces by adolescents today are far more different from the ones faces by their parents or even their elder siblings. The adolescents in our modern world are aware and willing to make a difference.

Jhalak Jerajani

Adolescent Dog Snapped At Baby

I wrote to you some months ago and never write again, this because I did not have any problem with my dog until now and this is case of keeping the dog or giving her away.

Last week the dog (9 months now), growled to my 2 year old daughter and to my wife too when she tried to correct her after the action. They were watching TV and it looks like my daughter approached her face to the dog, she has done this before without this kind of reaction and last night she pet her on her back and the dog pull her lips up like if she was ready to bite.

She never growls to anyone and she is very friendly and some times very submissive with people and other dogs.

I'm thinking that this is something to do with my daughter's stature, she is a dwarf and I guess the dog looks at her as lower level because she is actually smaller than the dog.

I read the book trying to find something to do but I see you suggest a professional advice.

I don't want to risk the safety of my daughter or wife, if there is something I can try that you suggest I will appreciate.

Thank you
Guillermo Rodriguez

Dear Guillermo:

I would be careful about letting your daughter be around the dog at this age, however... I would not recommend getting rid of the dog if...

1. You recognize that more than likely, based on what you've told me, you don't have a bad dog. What you've seen is very common amongst young dogs. They are reaching adolescents and are testing out their position in the pack. They are experimenting with new behaviors to see what kind of response it will elicit from the rest of the pack. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU SHOULD ENDANGER YOUR CHILD, but rather that you need to keep a very close eye on the two at all times.

She'll likely do this behavior a couple more times. When it happens, it must be met with a no-nonsense, extremely firm correction. (See page 45 and page 174) You must "psych" her into believing that if she tries to harm you or any other member of the pack again, then you will kill her. Make her never, EVER want to even THINK about trying such a behavior again.

2. Let me repeat, this is a very common behavior amongst young dogs. However, your child's safety comes first. I would not let a young child of this age be in direct contact with a dog, period. Regardless of the dog.

Please let me know if there is something you do not understand.

That's all for now, folks!

Adam

Adam Katz

How To Prevent Adolescent Smoking?

The ultimate responsibility of parents is to provide a positive role model for our children. If they see us smoke than we have no high ground from which we can advise them of the perils of smoking. If you are or were a smoker and you practiced your bad habit infront of your children, then they are really conditioned to take up the habit even before peer group pressure invites them to join in.

The science is in, smoking can kill.

Consequently it is with this thought that many parents wish their children not to acquire the bad habit of smoking since smoking is addictive, unfortunately many of our children are today caught up in adolescent smoking without any hard knowledge of how harmful it is to their overall health and to their future prospects.

Factors of Adolescent Smoking

Many people would agree that Adolescent smoking is often attributed to peer pressure and bad role models. These two are among the leading causes of adolescent smoking.

1. Peer pressure can be difficult for young people to handle. Unfortunately we cannot choose our children's friends and they often give in to adolescent smoking just to fit in or to be noticed.

2. Having bad role models to look up to. Like rock stars, movie stars, etc who have created their own stage persona that is perceived to be cool is also a heavy influence on their behavior and the taking up of adolescence smoking.

Doesn’t it all really come back to communication, by communicating with your children, building up a friendship and trust encourages them to communicate their feelings on what is happening in their world . When you have this communication ongoing it is far easier to direct their thoughts away from adolescent smoking by giving them strength of character and the ability to say NO.

By opening and nurturing the lines of communication you will find that the rebellious nature of youth is set aside as there is trust and understanding developed between you. Try not to talk down but rather talk to your children with respect, they in turn will respect you.

In your communications you can bring up the harm of adolescent smoking. Children quickly pick up facts and most are perceptive enough to understand how their bodies and consequently their futures will be affected if they take up adolescent smoking which inevitably leads to becoming addicted to this poisonous drug.

Parents naturally protect their children, however, it is also good for them to face the hard cold facts. It really is their choice and making them aware of the consequences of adolescent smoking will help them in their decisions making.
In many cases boredom leads to adolescent smoking, encourage your children to get involved in sport or outdoor activities, not only will this increase their level of fitness, it will develop self confidence and lead them away from adolescent smoking. Self confidence and a positive mental attitude will steer them in the right direction and give them the strength to resist peer group pressure.

By discouraging adolescent smoking, your child's body is able to fully develop thus ensuring a healthy lifestyle rather than one of poor physical development and constant poor health.

Paul Courtney

Tips For Getting Your Adolescent To Open Up

To many parents, their children seem like a closed book. At times it appears to be impossible to get them to open up and talk about their lives. But talking to your child and being aware of what is going on in their lives is one of the greatest ways to shield them from danger. Spying and snooping around isn’t the best way to get that information either, it will only makes matters worse if your teen finds out.

Here are a few tips to help your teen open up:

Start young. Keeping a connection going with your child is easier than starting one when you haven’t had one before. You may discover them trying to draw away once they hit a certain age; just being persistent and keeping at it can prove to work.

Be open to what they say. When you get your teen to open up, don’t be shocked if they say some things you are not fond of. Just be open to what they’re telling you instead of being critical. You can express to them that you don’t approve of something without attacking them. If they feel relaxed talking about serious things, they’ll be more likely to come to you if they have a dilemma.

Find a common ground. Look for things that you and your child are both interested in. It’s easier to talk about something that you both have in common.

Spend more together. A recent study showed that many teens complain that they are not receiving sufficient time with their parents. This is one of their top concerns. Many teens feel they can’t talk to their parents because they’re always at work or busy doing other things. Many time we fail to remember to take time out from our frantic lives to pay enough attention to our kids one on one. Some suggestions for spending additional time with your teen are:

• Set up a definite time every week to spend time with your teen
• Have dinner at the table with the whole family as often as possible
• Work out or engage in a sporting activity with your child

While your teen may be hesitant to talk to you at first, keep trying. Likely, you’ll intimately break down the wall and they’ll look forward to talking with you and spending more time with you as well.

Aurelia Williams

Adolescent Stages Of Addiction

Addiction has powerfully negative effects on adolescents, their families and the realization of their hopes and dreams. The sad fact is that that every addict started life as a human being with great potential. The addiction, like an overwhelming cancer can consume every aspect of the adolescents life. There are different stages of addiction. Each stage would require a different type of treatment modality. They are the early stage, the middle stage and the late or advanced stage of addiction. In adolescents, the stages of addiction can progress more quickly than as an adult, although this is not always true. It can take a few months or a few years to reach the later stages of addiction.

EARLY STAGES OF ADDICTION

Begins smoking cigarettes

Experimentation with drugs

Begins smoking pot and drinking

Hangs out with the drugging and drinking crowd

May steal medications from parents

Urgent requests for money, cons and manipulates to get requests met

Preoccupation with finding drugs and orients activities around them

School problems begin, maybe truancies or begging parents to make excuses for them

May not come home when requested, staying out all night

Few consequences from their use

Ability to control use

Tolerance to using

Substance use becomes a way of communicating to others

Attention span decreases

Lower tolerance to frustration

MIDDLE STAGES OF ADDICTION

Beginning to try and limit their use

Blaming others for thing that are going wrong

Using different types of drugs to gain control over use

Withdrawing from family and friends

Stealing

Academic decline and truancy

Mood swings

Lying

Increase in time spent in using substances

Changes in personal appearance

Arguments within the family

Legal difficulties

Loss of control

LATE STAGES OF ADDICTION

Suspension or being expelled from school

Increase in anxiety

Lowered self esteem

Increase in legal issues

Blackouts

Passing out

Signs of withdrawal symptoms

Unable to control substance use

Isolating

Anger outbursts

Denial of using

Weekend binges or daily use

Paranoia

Begins to steal, deal or prostitute to support their habit

Weight gain or weight loss

Stops trying to hide their use

Addiction is chronic, progressive and sometimes fatal. There are many forms of treatment for adolescent addiction. No one single treatment is effective for all individuals. Treatment must touch on all facets of the adolescent’s life. Social, family, school, legal and medical are just some areas that need to be a focus on, in treatment. If the adolescent is using heroin, medication management may be successful, such as buprenorphine or methadone. If an adolescent is using drugs, the best form of treatment always includes the family. Family participation and counseling is vital in providing proper treatment to the adolescent. Without family participation, the chances of the adolescent getting into recovery are low. The earlier in the addiction cycle that the family can intervene and get treatment, the better the chances for a full recovery.

Wendy McLellan MA, LCDPII

Adolescent Depression

Adolescent Depression:

The pressures of modern living are also having a detrimental effect on our adolescent youth. Take a look at the following statistics and be amazed.

Figures never lie and they are perhaps the best means to highlight certain facts and when they are brought to the notice of the general public leave a lasting impression. It is important to gain the attention of all who want to learn about what the statistics are saying. There are no doubts that statistics are nothing more and nothing less than concrete concepts that have the power to sway even the most skeptical of minds, and it will even show the young generation the true picture with respect to adolescent depression.

Twenty Percent Of Teenagers Are Sufferers

The first thing that will make you sit up and take notice about statistics pertaining to adolescent depression is the news that nearly a fifth of the teenage population in the US has experienced a form of clinical depression, even before having gained full adulthood.

Not only that, but there are about ten to fifteen percents of teenagers that have shown symptoms of adolescent depression and another five percent of the teenage population will have suffered from significant depression.

Secondly, another alarming aspect to adolescent depression is the fact that there is not much social acceptance when it concerns teenagers with such a condition, and what’s worse is the fact that as many as eight percent of teenagers will have experienced the re-occurrence of depression at least once a year. This is alarming because only a mere five percent of the national population suffer from depression.

When a person suffers a bout of adolescent depression it will generally last for about eight months and teenagers are also at risk that the subsequent attack of adolescent depression will strike them within a mere two years and the chances of this happening are about twenty to forty percent, and there is also a seventy percent chance that they will experience another attack of adolescent depression before they have even reached full adulthood.

Thirdly, another feature of adolescent depression is that quite a few teenagers will suffer from attacks of seasonal depression. This form of depression is most likely to strike during the wintertime, it is also found in places where the altitude is on the high side. Even the weather can play a significant part in the onset of seasonal depression, which means that teenagers also need to be aware of these external effects on the state of mind..

Fourthly, other figures related to adolescent depression reveal that dysthymia or a mild form of depression that lasts for a long time will affect about two percent of teenagers and a like percentage of teenagers are also likely to suffer from bipolar depression when they grow older. In fact, it is thought that as many as fifteen percent of teenagers that have suffered from major depression will later on be at risk of developing bipolar depression.

Thus, it is safe to say that adolescent depression will affect teenagers no matter their social background, income level, gender as well as race or even their achievements and that adolescent depression is very common mental health problem affecting teenagers in the US.

Paul Courtney

Common Oral Health Problems in Adolescents

Adolescents face many oral health problems which may require them to visit a dentist or any other healthcare professional. Irregular teeth growth is a common problem and adolescents with braces are a common sight. Another problem is wisdom teeth extraction or the removal of the third molar. Dental cavities are yet another common problem in adolescents.

Orthodontics is a specialty in dentistry which deals with correction, development and prevention of irregular teeth, jaw and bite. Orthodontics also helps to correct jaw disorders and facial abnormalities. If a general dentist feels abnormalities in the adolescent, he/she will refer the patient to an orthodontist. The American Dental Association suggests that every adolescent above the age of seven should get an orthodontic evaluation done. Problems which require orthodontic treatment are crowded or crooked teeth, extra teeth, missing teeth, under-bite, overbite, jaw joint disorder, and incorrect or misaligned jaw position.

To get braces or any other orthodontic treatments, the appropriate age is ten to fourteen years. But regardless of the age, the same physical and biological process is used in correcting and moving the teeth alignments. Braces are also known as fixed orthodontic appliances. There are three types of braces used to move and reposition the teeth. The first consists of brackets which are made out of plastic or metal. They are either of tooth color or clear and are bonded onto the teeth. The second type is the lingual type of brackets which are attached to the back teeth and cannot be seen while talking. The third type is a band. It is a metal band which covers the teeth and wraps around the last ones.

When adolescents wear braces they have to take certain precautions in order to avoid any more oral health complications. The most important precautionary measure is to brush the teeth regularly after every meal. Since the food can be easily lodged in braces, it is a good idea to brush carefully with soft bristles toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste. In the morning, the adolescent must floss between the braces and teeth. Food stuffs which are sticky or hard must be avoided as they are very difficult to remove. Foods like caramel, chew candy, popcorn, and nuts must be avoided. Cleaning must be done by the orthodontist or general dentist, every five to six months.

The wisdom teeth or third molars can grow in people of the age fifteen to twenty five. These teeth cause problem, because most of the mouths are too small to adjust new teeth and hence they need to be removed. If the wisdom tooth has place to grow, without affecting other teeth, they can be left to themselves. But if the adolescent experiences pain, facial swelling, mouth infection and gum-line swelling, then they should be extracted immediately. They can also destroy the second molars and impact other tooth. Various gum and jaw diseases can be caused. There can be a tumor development; cysts development and plaque build up. Hence, a surgery is performed to remove the tooth or teeth. The gum tissue covering the wisdom tooth is removed and the connective tissue connecting the tooth to the bone is detached. The tooth is then removed and the opening is sutured. A general dentist can perform wisdom tooth surgery in the local office using anesthesia.

Five times common than asthma is tooth cavities. The tooth above the gum line is made up of enamel, the hardest tissue within the human body. The tooth below the gum-line comprise of nerves, roots and dentin. Dentin is another type of tissue and isn’t as hard as the enamel. The acid which leads to tooth decay is produced by bacteria. These acids, along with dietary sugar, attach the enamel and eat away the minerals within the enamel, until a cavity is formed. This is known as tooth cavity. The biggest prevention against dental cavities is brushing teeth twice a day and even better, after every meal with fluoride toothpaste and soft bristle toothbrush. Carbonated drinks must be avoided strictly and must be replaced with fruit juices and sugary food must be avoided. Intake of fluoridated water also helps a lot or fluoride supplements can be used as replacement.

Krishan Bakhru