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leave the tent without her hus- band's consent. She must stay un- tilhereturns,evenifitmeansrisk- ing her daughters' lives. "I am waitingformyhusband,"shesays, still fanning flies from the sweat- ing babies. "He is coming." The floodwaters that began swamping a section of Pakistan larger than Florida six weeks ago continue to inundate new areas, forcing even more people to flee. At least 18 million have already been affected, and nearly half of them are homeless. Many have been herded into crude, crowded camps or left to fend for them- selves along roads. But doctors warn the real ca- tastrophe is moving much slower than the murky water. About 105,000 kids younger than 5 are at risk of dying from severe acute malnutrition over the next six months, UNICEF estimates. "You're seeing children who were probably very close to the brink of being malnourished, and the emergency has just pushed them over the edge," says Erin Boyd,aUNICEFemergencynutri- tionist working in southern Pak- istan. "There's just not the capac- itytotreatthislevelofsevereacute malnutrition." The U.N.'s World Food Pro- gram alone has fed more than 4 million people since the crisis be- gan, distributing monthly rations that include nutrition-packed foods for children. But the sheer geographic and human scale of the disaster is overwhelming, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki- moonhascalledittheworsthehas ever seen. Even now, after the water has recededinmanyareas,somefam- ilies who refused to abandon their villages remain marooned on is- lands cut off from all transport. The lucky ones sprint and dive for supplies dropped by choppers hovering above. But not everyone is being reached. Bunglani says her two baby girlshavehadlittletoeatsincethe Indus River jumped its banks and turned one-fifth of the country into a muddy lake. She was work- ing in the field when the water be- gan surging, leaving her just enough time to grab a baby under each arm and run to safety. The military transported the extended family to the camp on theoutskirtsofSukkur,whereshe said they typically receive one meal a day consisting of rice, veg- etablesorlentils.Thereisnothing for the babies, and the newborn simply was not strong enough to survive. "They are getting bread. They don't have milk. She can eat rice," Bunglanisays,pointingtoSughra, 2. "But the younger one cannot." In the past day, Sughra has stopped eating altogether. She willnottakericeoranyotherfood. Shejustturnsherheadandshoves hermother'shandaway.Thelittle one, Heleema, 1, cannot sit on her ownwithoutsupport,eventhough she should be getting ready to walk by now. "These kids are everything to me,"Bunglanisays."Iamworried about them, and everybody can see what condition they are in." Post-flooddataarelacking,but the World Health Organization saysabout30percentto35percent of children in Pakistan had stunted growth before the calamity, a sign of chronic malnu- trition. Farming families have now been flushed from their homes, losing the vital crops and livestock that were sustaining them in one of the country's poor- est areas. DT They were delivered at 27 weeks, weighing just 2lb, and though Mrs Ogg's little girl Emily was healthy, her brother Jamie was not breathing. After battling to save him for 20 min- utes, medical staff told her he had not survived. "The doctor asked me had we chosen a name for our son," said Mrs Ogg. "I said 'Jamie' and he turned around with my son al- ready wrapped up and said: 'We've lost Jamie, he didn't make it,sorry'."Itwastheworstfeeling I've ever felt. I unwrapped Jamie from his blanket. He was very limp." Mrs Ogg said that she wanted to hold him next to her skin ."I took my gown off and arranged him on my chest with his head over my arm and just held him. "He wasn't moving at all and we just started talking to him. "We told him what his name was and that he had a sister. We told him the things we wanted to do with him throughout his life." After two hours, he began showing signs of life. "Jamie oc- casionally gasped for air, which doctors said was a reflex action," Mrs Ogg explained. "But then I felt him move as if he were startled, then he started gasping more and more regu- larly. I gave Jamie some breast milk on my finger, he took it and started regular breathing nor- mally." "Ithought'OhmyGod,what's going on?' A short time later he opened his eyes. It was a miracle. "Then he held out his hand and grabbed my finger. He opened his eyes and moved his head from side to side. The doc- tor kept shaking his head saying: 'I don't believe it, I don't believe it'." It is thought that the warmth of Mrs Ogg's body acted like an incubator to keep the baby warm and stimulated. It adds weight to the theory of "kangaroocare",namedafterthe way marsupials care for their youngintheirpouches.Someex- perts believe a skin-to-skin ap- proach is more beneficial than taking newborn babies into in- tensive care incubators. Jamie is now a healthy five month old. His father David said: "Luck- ily I've got a very strong, very smart wife. She instinctively did what she did. If she hadn't done that, Jamie probably wouldn't be here." DT News & Opinions DENTALTRIBUNE Middle East & Africa Edition2 A recent study by Harvard Uni- versity revealed that eating fruit dailyisthebestwaytowhitenteeth. Through a three-month clinical study, it was determined that strawberries, orange peels and lemon juice are the most effective teeth whiteners in the world. Strawberries can be made into a puree and smothered on the teeth. Strawberries have a natural en- zymethatremovestoothstains,ac- cording to teethwhitener.net. Orangepeelscanbeusedtore- move tooth stains, just by rubbing the inside of a peel against tooth surfaces. A little lemon juice and salt work very well to remove stains. Justwashyourmouthoutwiththis or even rock salt and warm water willworkatnighttoremovestains. Baking soda has long been knowntoworkwondersforsmiles. Itmaytasteawful,howeveradding baking soda on a toothbrush along withmouthwashcanhelpalleviate the negative taste. Also a straw- berry mixture added to baking soda/peroxide not only adds a sweet taste to the concotion, but is yet another effective whitener. Itisbesttonotdrinkcoffee,tea, colas or red wine, which are all known to stain teeth and cause some decay of the enamel. Apples and potatoes can cause discol- oration, but they also tend to clean off the teeth. Mouth washing is im- portant after eating apples. Also,stoporslowdowntobacco use, as both dipping and smoking can cause tooth discoloration. Avoid mouthwash, as it sometimes willstainteeth.Finally,remindpa- tientsthatanounceofpreventionis worth more than a pound of cure. Goingtothedentistonceortwicea year for a cleaning and checkup is strongly suggested. DT Researchers say the best teeth whitener is fruit Daniel Zimmermann DTI - HONG KONG /LEIPZIG Germany: A Japanese tooth- brush that does not require tooth paste for removing dental plaque has been received special ac- knowledgementbytheHongKong International Dental Expo and Symposium. The organisers awarded research presented by dental students from the Univer- sity of Saskatchewan College of Dentistry in Canada who found that the brush prevents bleeding associated with periodontal dis- ease more effective than a regular toothbrush. In contrast to tooth paste that removes dental plaque through abrasion, the Soladey-J3X utilizes electrolysis to destroy cell struc- tures of bacteria that form the biofilm inside the mouth. To achieve this, negatively-charged light particles or electrons are gathered by a solar panel and transmitted through a Titanium dioxide semiconductor on the head of the brush where they chemically react with acids re- sponsible for tooth decay. The toothbrush, which has been awarded during the FDI Worldental Congress in Dubai, amongst others, is being devel- oped and marketed by Shiken Co. Lt.,amanufacturerbasedinOsaka in Japan. Aside from a good light source to charge the solar panel, it does not require people to change theirbrushinghabits,thecompany states. DT Paste-free toothbrush endorsed by HK dental show DENTAL TRIBUNE The World’s Dental Newspaper · Middle East & Africa Edition Published by Education Zone in licence of Dental Tribune International GmbH © 2010, Dental Tribune International GmbH. All rights reserved. Dental Tribune makes every effort to report clinical information and manu- facturer’s product news accurately, but cannot assume responsibility for the validityofproductclaims,orfortypographicalerrors.Thepublishersalsodo not assume responsibility for product names or claims, or statements made by advertisers. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and may not re- flect those of Dental Tribune International. Editorial Board Prof. Abdullah Al-Shammary, Restorative Dentistry, KSA Prof. Hussain F. Al Huwaizi, Endodontics, Iraq Prof. Samar Burgan, Oral Medicine, Jordan Dr. Abdel Salam Al Askary, Implantology, Egypt Dr. Talal Al-Harbi, Orthodontist, Qatar Dr. Mohammed H. Al Jishi, Bahrain Dr. Lara Bakaeen, Prosthodontist , Jordan Dr. Aisha Sultan, Periodontist, UAE Dr. Kamal Balaghi Mobin Aesthetics, Iran President/CEO Yasir Allawi y.allawi@dental-tribune.ae Director mCME: Dr. D. Mollova info@cappmea.com Marketing manager Khawla Najib khawla@dental-tribune.ae Production manager Hussain Alvi dentalme@dental-tribune.ae PO Box 214592, Dubai, UAE, Tel + 971 4 391 0257 Fax + 971 4 366 4512 www.dental-tribune.com Page 1DT Mum's Miracle Cuddle Brings Baby Back to Life