Derek Richards

Profile photo of Derek Richards
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.

Website

Follow me here –

Review finds no trials to inform the treatment of displaced luxated permanent teeth

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_81871846

Trauma to the upper front teeth of children and young adults is relatively common. The aim of this Cochrane review was to assess the effects of interventions for treating displaced luxated permanent teeth. Searches of the Medline, Cochrane Oral Health Group’s Trials Register the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Embase and Lilacs databases [read the full story…]

Small study found that pre-operative ibuprofen improved efficacy of inferior alveolar nerve blocks

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_70250746

Inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) is a routine technique for achieving regional anaesthesia. However, it is not always successful, with inflammation being a potential cause.  The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of preoperative oral ibuprofen (IBU) on the success of inferior alveolar nerve blocks (IANBs) with mepivacaine containing 1: 100 000 epinephrine for [read the full story…]

Review suggests that antimicrobial photodynamic therapy may provide additional benefit to scaling and root planning for patients with chronic periodontitis

2 Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
iStock_000001604217XSmall dental laser

The aim of this review was to evaluate the clinical adjunctive effect of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) to scaling and root planing (SRP) when compared with SRP alone or in combination with placebo in the treatment of chronic periodontitis (CP) patients. A search in the Medline, Cochrane Controlled Clinical Trial Register, Cochrane Database of Systematic [read the full story…]

Review suggests that some lasers are effective in treatment of dentine hypersensitivity

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_44187316

In my blog on 25th June 2011 we looked at a systematic review which aimed to assess whether laser therapy was more effective than desensitising agents for dentine hypersensitivity.   This latest systematic review on the topic by  Sgolastra et al  aimed to assess the efficacy of lasers, stratified according to laser type, on changes in [read the full story…]

Reducing soft tissue anesthesia after dental visits with phentolamine

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_17571817- injection

The effects of dental local anaesthetic often prolonged, particularly soft tissue numbness. This may affect appearance, the ability to speak, smile or eat following dental treatment. Phentolamine mersylate has been shown to accelerate the return of soft tissue feeling after routine dental procedures and was licensed by The Food and Drugs Administration for dental use [read the full story…]

Limited economic analysis of dentistry

1 Response »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_26254669

Dental diseases are very common and the cost of treating them places significant economic costs on society and yet the economic impact of dental interventions has received limited analysis. The aim of this review was to identify systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the economics of dentistry published between 1997 and 2011; judge the quality of [read the full story…]

Guidance on the management of acute dental problems from SDCEP

2 Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_42469618 - swollen face

The Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP) has recently launched guidance for the management of patients with acute dental problems. The scope of the guidance is to:- Encourage a consistent approach to the management of acute dental problems to reduce avoidable variation in practice Improve the quality of unscheduled clinical care for patients with acute [read the full story…]

New critical summary from the American Dental Association Center for Evidence-based Dentistry

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_12344797

The latest critical summary to come from the ADA-EBD Center is of a 2010 review by Schley et al. The aim of the original review was to assess the 5-year survival rates of all-ceramic zirconia-based fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) and to analyze technical and biological complications. The reviewer highlighted a number of issues with the [read the full story…]

Stepwise and partial excavation reduces the incidence of pulp exposure in carious primary and permanent teeth

1 Response »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_34500700 - caries sign

The traditional management of caries by the removal of all softened demineralised dentine before a filling is placed is being increasingly challenged. This updated Cochrane review aims to assess the effects of stepwise, partial or no dentinal caries removal compared with complete caries removal for the management of dentinal caries in previously unrestored primary and [read the full story…]

No convincing evidence of a clinically important difference with different loading times of implants

2 Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_97814552

Dental implants are increasingly being used to replace missing teeth in contrast to the more traditional use of bridges or dentures.  Implants have been used since the 1970s with the recommendation that they were kept load –free during the healing period (3-4months for the mandible, 6-8 months for the maxilla) . Since the 1990s studies [read the full story…]