Derek Richards

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Derek Richards is a specialist in dental public health, Director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Dentistry and Specialist Advisor to the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP) Development Team. A former editor of the Evidence-Based Dentistry Journal and chief blogger for the Dental Elf website until December 2023. Derek has been involved with a wide range of evidence-based initiatives both nationally and internationally since 1994. Derek retired from the NHS in 2019 remaining as a part-time senior lecturer at Dundee Dental School until the end of 2023.

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Weak evidence for an effect of chlorhexidine varnish on mutans streptococci in patients with fixed orthodontic appliances

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11 studies were included in this review of chlorhexidine varnish to reduce mutans streptococcus in patients having a fixed orthodontic treatment. A majority of the studies demonstrated a positive effect but the quality of the evidence was weak.

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Sense of Coherence and oral health behaviours

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Nine studies were identified for this review of the impact of sense of coherence (SOC) on oral health behaviours. The findings suggest that more favourable oral health behaviour are seen in those with a stronger SOC.

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Aggressive periodontitis: is photodynamic therapy beneficial?

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This review looked at the effectiveness of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy as an adjunctive treatment to scaling and root polishing for aggressive periodontitis. Seven small studies suggest that it may be beneficial in the short term.

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Study finds better oral hygiene improved oral lichen planus

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This small randomised trial found improvements in quality of life for patients with oral lichen planus at both 4 weeks and 20 weeks following implementation of a structured oral hygiene instruction.

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Oral lichen planus: is topical tacrolimus better than clobetasol?

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Ten small RCTs were included in this review. They suggest that topical tacrolimus is more efficacious than clobetasol for oral lichen planus.

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Review suggests that open reduction of mandibular condyle fractures may have better outcomes

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Around a third of mandibular fractures involve the mandibular condyle. Treatment approaches involve either an open or closed approach and there is no general agreement of which method should be used.    The aim of this review was to compare open and closed treatment of moderately displaced condylar fractures. The authors searched 3 databases PubMed, Cochrane [read the full story…]

Review found little difference in orthodontic bonding failure rates with different types of curing lights

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Light systems to cure orthodontic bonding materials to attach orthodontic brackets have been in use for many years. In recent years, alternatives to halogen lights, including light emitting diodes (LEDs) and plasma lights, have been developed. The aims of this review was to compare bracket failure risks and times taken to place attachments with 3 [read the full story…]

Use of infant nutrition guidance did not lead to a significant reduction in early childhood caries

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Early childhood caries remains a significant problem in many parts of the world and has been defined by the American Dental Association as:- the presence of one or more decayed (non-cavitated or cavitated lesions), missing (due to caries) or filled tooth surfaces in any primary tooth in a preschool-age child between birth and 71 months [read the full story…]

Smokers may have poorer results after periodontal treatment

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This latest critical summary from the ADA-EBD Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry looks at a review by Patel et al 2011 which addresses the question  of whether smokers have poorer bone regeneration than non-smokers after periodontal treatment. The appraiser considered this to be a well-conducted systematic review and meta-analysis that included 10 articles with 458 participants [read the full story…]

Study suggests that a computer program may have some success in managing patients with dental needle fear

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Significant fear of dental injections has been reported in as many as one in four adults.   The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of  Computer Assisted Relaxation
 Learning (CARL) with an informational pamphlet for reducing dental injection fear. CARL is a self-paced, computerized program based on systematic desensitization aimed at reducing fear [read the full story…]