Now, tobacco addicts in Ludhiana can avail dental packages for wedding
A bride and groom having an appointment with dentist prior to the wedding is not just to be at their smiling best on their day, but to avoid the embarrassment of getting noticed about their chewing tobacco habit. The cost of the treatment might vary from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh.
A bride and groom having an appointment with dentist prior to the wedding is not just to be at their smiling best on their day, but to avoid the embarrassment of getting noticed about their chewing tobacco habit. The cost of the treatment might vary from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh.
Owing to the deteriorating dental health condition among city youth, dentists these days have special bridal dental packages, wherein apart from treating the tooth health and alignment, treatment on smile rejuvenation, smile enhancement and sparkling smile procedures are performed.
“After multiple failed attempts to quit smoking, what has turned my despair into terror is the visible effects of my bad habit (teeth blackening). My family is diligent on planning my wedding which has eventually led me to take the step of getting my dental make up done. The treatment can somehow camouflage the darker picture of my denture,” said 29-year-old Rajanpreet Gogia. (name changed on request).
Dr Rajanbir Singh Thind, secretary, Indian Dental association, Ludhiana branch, shared, “It’s been quite some time now when I attend to smokers who come up for regular visits twice a year for treatment of teeth scaling and polishing. However, the regular demands for teeth shine around wedding season, actually made us to start a bridal/groom dentistry as such a demand rises manifold during such days.”
“Though such demand is from both smokers as well as nonsmokers, but the cost involved in the former treatment is comparatively high, owing to the deterioration, “he added.
Talking about the visible symptoms in smokers, Dr Vineet Galhotra, associate professor of dentistry, DMCH, said, “The smokers usually experience hardening of tissues, blackening of teeth and bad breath, which is accompanied by tooth ache. While such symptoms can be reduced with a treatment through regular sittings, two-four times a year, yet, the problem becomes irreversible after tooth movement and misalignment.”
“While there might be no permanent solution to quit this habit, yet quitting at an early stage can save the person from further deterioration and fatal affects,” said Dr Amit Dhiman, head of department (HOD), medical oncology and hematooncology, DMCH. “Quitting smoking might be a tough act, yet it is crucial to deal with cravings and withdrawal symptoms,” Dhiman added.
TOBACCO’S IMPACT IN INDIA
Global adult tobacco survey 2009-10, by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare showed 12.5% population of Punjab as the smoking population, comprising less than 5% women population.
India is the second largest consumer of tobacco globally, and accounts for approximately one-sixth of the world’s tobacco-related deaths. It is estimated that around 1 million deaths a year in India are attributable to smoking.
Global adult tobacco survey (2009-10, by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India) suggests that in India, any form of tobacco use is prevalent in 34.6% adults - 47.9% in men and 20.3% in women. Every year about 1.5 lakh new cases of head and neck cancer and 70,000 new cases of lung cancer are reported in India (GLOBOCAN 2012); most of these are attributable to tobacco use.