Dear Dr. Khan,
I am 26 years old. One of my front teeth has been root canalled and capped since 2002. But unfortunately I have been suffering from different problems from the very first year of the treatment. At first the cap was put off after a year. Then I went to a doctor and he told me that the base was too small to be capped (even when he was the one to make the base himself!). However, then he made an artificial base and put the cap on. But within a year I faced a similar experience. Then I was started changing doctors. My new dentist said that the base made artificially was not so strong. So he made another one. After that I felt better for one and half year. But nowadays I am starting to feel a certain discomfort. It seems very weak and limp. Now what should be done? Please give me a permanent solution.
Zulfiqar
Chittagong University

Dear Mr Zulfigar,
If the root is strong and healthy then I will recommend you to make a cast core and a porcelain cap. I think previously your base was made by using a screw (post), but nowadays I prefer cast core (where the base or the crown is made by metal casting which extend to the root portion). Do an x-Ray and ask your dentist whether you are suitable for cast core or not.

Dear Dr. Khan,
Please tell me how to prevent dental cavity and give a diet chart for keeping a sound dental health.
Gazi

Dear Mr Gazi
Choosing the right food in your diet is an important aspect in having a good oral health. Establishing good nutritional habits in kids and teenagers can be especially beneficial for good eating patterns and food choices throughout their lives.

How nutrition affects oral health
The food that you eat, come in contact with the germs and bacteria that live in the mouth. If you don't brush, plaque will accumulate on the teeth. Plague thrives on the starches and sugars that are found in a great deal of food. When plaque combines with the sugars and starches, an acid is produced that attacks tooth enamel and eventually causes decay.

Choosing a healthy diet:
Choosing a healthy diet may sound easy. However, fruits, milk, cereals, bread and some vegetables contain sugars and/or starches. Carbonated sodas, sweet fruit drinks and sugary snacks should be limited. You don't have to avoid these, just keep in mind that you should have a balanced diet, brush your teeth twice a day and floss daily.

Health tips:
*Drink plenty of water
*To get a balanced diet, eat a variety of food. Choose food from each of the five major food groups:
bread, cereals and other grain products
fruits
vegetables
meat, poultry and fish
milk, cheese and yogurt

*Cut down on snacking on in-between meals
*Limit snacks and drinks that are high in sugar
*Brush twice a day
*Floss daily
*Visit your dentist for regular checkups

Dear Dr. Khan,
I will appreciate if you write some thing about oral cancer. Especially please mention some early signs of oral cancer within our oral cavity.
Hakim

Dear Mr. Hakim,
In 2005, the Oral Health Program of the World Health Organization (WHO) published a chart that highlights incidence of oral cancer across the world. Bangladesh is among the countries with the highest incidence for both men and women. The reason for this is that the major cause of oral cancer involves the use of “paan”(betel leaf) and chewing tobacco. About 20%-25% of all types of cancers in Bangladesh are in the oral cavity, and this is alarming when compared to any other country.

Signs and symptoms that could indicate oral cancer include:
· Any sign of irritation, like tenderness, burning or a sore that will not heal;
· Pain, tenderness or numbness anywhere in the mouth or lips;
· Development of a lump, or a leathery, wrinkled or bumpy patch inside the mouth; color changes in oral soft tissues (gray, red or white spots or patches), rather than a healthy pink color;

· Difficulty in chewing, swallowing, speaking or moving the jaw or tongue.

I had a root canal done few weeks ago. I still have the dull ache. It's a very mild pain, doesn't even keep me up at night, or so far it hasn't even gotten worse. I was hoping it would go away after the root canal. I'm now discouraged. It is off and on several times throughout the day. Why? I'm beginning to think it didn't even help. Any ideas?
Ahmed

Dear Mr. Ahmed
It is always safer to proceed from a diagnosis to a treatment, rather than to use a treatment to confirm a diagnosis.

There are three possibilities of pain after root canal treatment;
I. The diagnosis was correct, the root canal was performed properly, and you're experiencing normal postoperative pain which will disappear with time. This is common.
II. The diagnosis was correct, but for some reason the root canal did not eliminate the problem.

III. The diagnosis was incorrect, the root canal treatment was inappropriate, and the original problem remained untreated.
Only time will tell which of the three possibilities applies; let's hope it's #I. If the symptoms persist, a return trip to the Dentist is recommended and he/she may advise a further x-ray to check the possible source of pain. By the way, do not forget to make a crown (cap) on your root canal treated teeth.

What are Finance companies?
Finance companies are lending institutions offering a wide range of services ranging from consumer credit to lease finance to real estate finance. Finance companies also offer fixed term investment opportunities. The Finance companies are continually developing and adapting to the changing economic and social environment in which they operate.

What is meant by a customer of the bank?
A customer is a person/organization who keeps an account with the bank. Primary requirement to become a customer are: an offer by a person/organization to open some sort of an account either current, savings or fixed deposit. And the banker's willingness to accept such an offer ultimately results in opening of an account.

What is the relationship between a bank and its customer?
The relationship between the bank and the customer is highly confidential and contractual. It imposes certain obligations on both parties. Some obligations on part of the customer to banker would include drawing cheques in such a way a so that it does not facilitate fraudulent alteration, to sign cheques in such a manner that a reasonable comparison with specimen signature is feasible, not to sign blank cheques without proper control and to pay a reasonable charge set by the bank for the services rendered by it.

What are the obligations of the bank to its customers?
Some of the primary obligations of the bank to its customers are to accept deposits and other financial instruments, to honour cheques for withdrawal of deposited funds with customers' instructions, to preserve strict confidentiality concerning customers' affairs and to give reasonable notice to customers before the closure of the account.

This time of the year, the weather is at the peak of its mischievous self. Being fickle, with clouds haunting the sky the first minute and the sun blazing down in the very next, make a point in keeping an umbrella handy. Come rain or shine, this little “equipment” will keep your look (and mood) at bay.

By Iffat Nawaz
Vent a Little

Will you let me vent a little? Scream a while? I won't cry on your shoulder, I promise. But I need to vent, a little…will you let me?

Well, it started a long time ago, sometime after our parents became our parents and around when we became us, more adults than children. Or does this problem date even further back? I need to ask someone older but for some reason I think it's more of a recent problem, I would like to think that our parents' generation had a different definition of manners and they practiced it very wisely.

This problem has caused me the loss of few possible friendships because I simply don't like to give in these days; it derived tension, made me judge people with a bit more cruelty than I normally would. Well, because they are judging me, so why won't I judge them back, I know…I shouldn't…but I still do…and I really don't care…

Is it like that in Dhaka too now? I don't remember it being that way. Oh right, I haven't even told you what it is…it's this…it's when you meet someone for the first time, and they ask you what your name is and you tell them offering your best normal self and then they ask you “and what do you do?” And that second question is what determines for me if I should be friends with the questioner or not. Seriously, it's that important to me these days. If someone can ask you what you do between the silence of thought and the words of just hearing your name, to me that's rude and provincial. It's like: 'Okay who cares about who I am and what I am talking about and what my likes or dislikes are, all you care about is what do I do for a living to decide if I am worth your time, if you can relate to me through my profession, use me to network yourself through town. Is that the best way of finding common ground between two people these days? What do you do? No…I think not.”

What bugs me even more is, there is some self-pomposity about this whole ordeal. Some sort of immodesty. If I ask someone what they do I am instantly claiming myself to be of some higher ground, proud to announce what I do, so that we can guess and compare silently how much we make and if we sit in a cubical or an office. And of course some of us like to top off this conversation by exchanging business cards. I have so many now, I use them to light candles and campfires. They are quite good for that.

A friend of mine hates the question even more than I do. She often stops talking to the person completely. This friend of mine happen to have a job that's a mouthful and quite impressive if I may say so, so it's not that she is in any way shape or form ashamed to talk about what she does. She simply doesn't want to. Why should she? Does her work define her? Well maybe a little, work does define a little bit of us whether we like it or not, but what about the rest of her, the rest of her that's defined by personal experience and desires. Aren't we discounting all of that by asking what do people do?

Now I must confess, I did partake in a similar game of judging standards in the past. It was when I met someone from Dhaka, I would somehow end up asking (not the second question in the conversation, but maybe the 12th or the 20th) where they went to school. And without knowing that I was doing so (or maybe I did it knowingly, just a little) I would judge them for going to a less or more reputable school…I know…I did it…but I have stopped, seriously… I have…

I am thinking of an anger-less way of dealing with this “what do you do” problem. I haven't come up with any, if you can think of a good solution let me know. Until then I will keep answering them with the most boring movements of my mouth, and move on to the next stranger hoping they will offer something fresher, something out of the box without a business card.