While enquiring into the brushing habit of a child patient in the clinic, the parent proudly told that since it was difficult to get the child do tooth brushing at night, he was using mouth wash regularly. Mouth washes are not meant to routinely replace tooth brushing or for prolonged use. Moreover, due to the alcohol content, they are risky in children due to chances of swallowing.

Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs have proven their worth in the management of dental pain. NSAIDs, which have cox-2 selectivity, have come to the market. Their advantage over other NSAIDs is minimal gastric irritation.

Endoseries in this issue is touching a very important aspect of root canal treatment- the access cavity preparation. An inadequate or faulty access cavity preparation is a sure shot guarantee for root canal treatment failure. The number of root canals may be more than what we have been thinking. Take time to understand the intricacies in a proper access cavity preparation.

To preserve maximum tooth structure, we should be able to diagnose the pathological changes at a very early stage. What can help us in this context? Will the aphthous ulcer heal faster if the patient brushes his teeth without toothpaste for a few days? Answers to these and other exciting information are there in the ‘latest news’ section.

Dr. Beena Rani Goel, M.D.S.