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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Interventions for drooling in children with cerebral palsy

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Drooling is a common problem for children with cerebral palsy (CP). Drooling varies in severity and can be distressing for the children, families and caregivers. It can cause chapped or sore skin around the mouth and chin, skin and mouth infections, dehydration, difficulties chewing and a range of other social issues.  The main aim of [read the full story…]

New Cochrane Protocols February 2012

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The February issue of the Cochrane Library sees the publication of two new oral health protocols. It will be a little while before the reviews are published. However people for are working in these areas may be interested to know that these reviews are underway. The full text of each protocol is available from the [read the full story…]

Only weak evidence of the effectiveness of any treatments for erosive lichen planus

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Lichen planus (LP) is an inflammatory condition that affects the skin and the squamous epithelium of mucosal surfaces lining the mouth, ears, eyes, and nose as well as the gastrointestinal and anogenital tracts. Two main patterns of inflammation are described:  the plaque (raised) type and the erosive (raw) type, although bullous, blistering, or hypertrophic (thickened)types [read the full story…]

Partial loss of teeth – so many treatment options – but insufficient evidence to recommend best method

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The management of patents who present with the partial loss of teeth is a common task for dentists and has been so for many years. The aim of this Cochrane review is to assess the effects of different prostheses for the treatment of partially absent dentition in terms of the following outcomes: long-term success, function, [read the full story…]

4% articaine and 2% lidocaine with epinephrine have similar effectiveness in achieving anaesthesia in maxillary teeth

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The aim of the study was to compare the anaesthetic efficacy of buccal infiltrations of 4% articaine with epinephrine (1:100,000) and 2% lidocaine with epinephrine (1:80,000) in achieving anaesthesia in maxillary permanent teeth with irreversible pulpitis. Patients aged 16 years and over who presenting with irreversible pulpitis in one tooth and an asymptomatic vital tooth [read the full story…]

Limited research about what distinguishes treatable from nontreatable pulpal inflammation in teeth

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Accurate diagnosis of the condition  of the dental pulp  has an important bearing on treatment planning.  The aim of this review was to appraise the diagnostic accuracy of signs/symptoms and tests used to determine the condition of the pulp in teeth affected by deep caries, trauma or other types of injury. The authors searched PubMed, [read the full story…]

Traumatic extraction carries a high risk of a painful dry socket

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Alveolar osteitis or dry socket is a common and painful complication of tooth extraction, occurring following about 5% of all tooth extractions.  The aetiology of this complication is unclear and it has been associated with a wide range of risk factors. the aim of this study was to assess the relation between 8 risk factors [read the full story…]

75% of patients reported no pain during routine dental treatment

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Despite  improvements in dental practice dental procedures are often perceived as painful and uncomfortable.  The aim of the study was to investigate factors that influence pain intensities associated with routine dental procedures. This study was conducted in general dental practices in the North West of England. 451 dental patients self-reported pain experienced during the procedure [read the full story…]

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Physical therapy did not have an additional effect over advice on management of patients with temporomandibular disorders

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Physical therapy (PT) is recognised as a conservative method for the management of temporomandibular disorders (TMD). However, some studies suggest that physical therapy provides minimal, if any therapeutic effect while others suggest evidence to support its use for the treatment of TMD.  The aim of this trial was to investigate the effect of physical therapy [read the full story…]

Good success rates in pulpotomy of immature caries-exposed permanent molars

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The aim of this study was to  compare the  outcomes of pulpotomy treatment using calcium-enriched mixture (CEM) cement and mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) in carious-exposed vital immature permanent first molars. Participants (n=51,  1 tooth per patient)  with immature molars with clinical carious exposure with symptomatic/asymptomatic pulpitis were randomised to  undergo pulpotomy using either CEM (n=26) [read the full story…]