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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Are there fewer complications with closed reductions of mandibular fractures

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This systematic review was first published in  2008. The American Dental Association Center for Evidence-based Dentistry has now published a critical summary of the review. They highlighted as number of  methodological issues with the review and all of the included studies were retrospective studies. They found that the review was :- unable to demonstrate a [read the full story…]

Temporary anchorage devices are reliable options for orthodontic anchorage

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This systematic review was first published in  2009. The American Dental Association Center for Evidence-based Dentistry has now published a critical summary of the review. They identified some issues with the clarity of the inclusion and exclusion criteria and the thoroughness of the search strategy, and the reporting quality. However there was consistency among the [read the full story…]

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Human papillomaviruses strongly associated with oral cancer

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The role of human papillomaviruses (HPV) in the development of premalignant and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a hotly debated topic despite recognition of its role in cervical squamous cell carcinoma of uteri. The main aim of this systematic review was to calculate the pooled estimates of the odds ratio (OR) for the association [read the full story…]

Arthroscopy for temporomandibular disorders

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Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) comprise a group of clinical  problems that involve the masticatory muscles, the temporomandibular joint and associated structures, or both. They may also involve many organic, psychological and psychosocial factors. The aetiology of TMDs is still not clear. The aim of this Cochrane review was to assess the effectiveness of arthroscopy for the [read the full story…]

Malignant transformation in patients with oral lichen planus

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This cohort study of 327 oral lichen planus (OLP) patients; 229 women (70.0%) and 98 men (30.0%), was conducted using data from a cohort of caucasian patients from Italy with clinical and pathologic diagnosis of OLP, according to revised and modified World Health Organization diagnostic criteria. Follow-up of the patient cohort was started 6 months [read the full story…]

Toothbrushing to reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia pathogens and dental plaque in a critical care unit

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Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a life-threatening condition in critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation. The incidence of VAP in varies between 9% and 45%  with mortality rates of up to 50% . It is accompanied by an increase both in length of stay in intensive care units ICU and healthcare. The aim of this trial [read the full story…]

Interceptive treatment of palatally displaced maxillary canines

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Permanent canine usually erupt around 10.5 years in girls and 11.5 in boys.  Between 1-3% do not erupt normally the majority (85%) are displaced palatally.  They can lead to unwanted movement of neighbouring teeth, dental crowding, root resorption of the ectopic tooth, as well as the neighbouring teeth, cyst formation, infection, referred pain and combinations [read the full story…]

Folic acid supplementation for phenytoin-induced gingival overgrowth in children

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Gingival overgrowth is an important adverse effect of phenytoin (PHT) therapy, occurring in about half of the patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of oral folic acid supplementation (0.5 mg/day) for the prevention of PHT-induced gingival overgrowth (PIGO) in children with epilepsy aged 6–15 years on PHT monotherapy for 6 months. Children aged [read the full story…]

Malignant transformation rates in oral potentially malignant disorders

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The aims of the study were to determine how frequently oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) transform to cancer and to identify clinical and histological factors determining the rates of transformation. The study cohort  included 1357 patients with biopsy-confirmed OPMDs seen at Guy’s Hospital between 1990 and 1999 and followed up until 2005.  The patients’ details [read the full story…]

Calcium hydroxide or MTA for apex formation in immature permanent teeth

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Pulp necrosis  in immature teeth arrests root development so apical closure cannot be achieved. Root canal treatment of these teeth is a challenge. Procedures to encourage apexification have long been the treatment of choice success in preserving damaged immature teeth.  A range of  materials have been recommended to induce apexification in teeth with immature apices. [read the full story…]