Ask the Experts

THE RIGHT CANDIDATE FOR DENTAL IMPLANTS

Question: How do I know if I am a candidate for dental implants? Prof. Hesham Marei, Consultant Oral Maxillofacial Surgeon & Implantologist, Dean, College of Dentistry, Gulf Medical University responds: “Today, placement of dental implants is the standard of care that is offered to patients with missing teeth. If you have missing teeth, you need to visit your dentist, who will perform a clinical and radiographic examination. If you are medically fit and well and have good quantity and quality of bone at the site of missing teeth, the implants placement will be a straight forward and simple procedure. However, if you are suffering from systemic problems such as uncontrolled diabetes or hypertension or taking any regular medications, consultation with a physician is essential to control the medical problems before proceeding with dental implants. When there is a limitation in bone quantity, use of short/narrow implants or bone grafting are options that can be selected to allow patients to replace their missing teeth. So, if you have missing teeth, proceed and book an appointment with your dentist immediately.” From pediatric questions to general medical queries, our panel of experts is here to answer your questions.

TOXIC POSITIVITY

Question: In my efforts to always stay positive, a friend pointed out toxic positivity; why is this detrimental?

Mai Elsayed, Clinical Hypnotherapist with Psychotherapy Skills, Internationally Published Author/NextGen MENA Committee member responds: “As much as having a positive mindset is beneficial for our overall health and well-being, practicing toxic positivity can cause more harm than good. Toxic positivity is putting a positive spin on everything, even situations that can be traumatic and emotionally excruciating. Under the name of positivity, people neglect their own need to grieve and express their emotions. Being positive all the time is not humanly possible as we all go through emotional and psychological cycles. We may also face situations that hurt our feelings. We need to keep in mind that our emotions, no matter how unpleasant they may feel, serve a purpose and when we inhibit, hide or mask our true sentiments, we invalidate our internal human experience. It can cause us to go into a state of denial or repression, which can in return transform the energy of our repressed emotions into psychosomatic illnesses.”

SKIN TYPE 4 AND PIGMENTATION

Question: I have a light brown skin tone and am skin type 4. Why does it take so long for my melasma to reduce?

Olimpia Carmen, Head Of Laser and Anti-Aging Department responds: “Melasma is a skin discoloration of the skin, with darker patches than normal skin color of any ethnicity, on the areas exposed in the sun. The main culprit of triggering this skin condition is not clearly known, but seems to be of hormonal origin and prolonged sun exposure, without sunscreen. The pigment causing melasma is called melanin and is produced in the melanocytes. Caucasian skin types can suffer from this skin condition, but as their skin has less melanin on the surface of the skin, when treating the patches of melasma, the skin surrounding the patches is not affected, resulting in an easier evening of the skin tone. Asian skin types IV, V and African VI, with darker patches, is less reactive to the treatment, since the density of melanocytes and melanin is greater and has the risk of reacting less or causing a bleaching like effect on the melasma patch. This leads to unevenness on the face. Also, most Asian patients with hormonal induced melasma have very sensitive skin. Treatments such as peels and/ or lasers are harsh for these skin types and results can oscillate from good to a disaster with not much margin inbetween. Moreover, if patients do not comply with the strict protocols prescribed, the relapse will occur at the first prolonged sun exposure.”