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 –

Tooth fragment reattachment techniques?

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_120050842

This review of tooth fragment reattachment techniques included only 5 small observational studies involving a total of 246 teeth providing limited evidence for these techniques.

[read the full story...]

Traumatic dental injuries affect around 1 billion people

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_120050842

This review of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) included 152 observational studies providing an estimate of global prevalence of TDIs in permanent teeth of 15.2% (95%CI, 13.0%-17.4%)

[read the full story...]

Third molars and mandibular angle fractures: Are they associated?

1 Response »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
3D_CT_of_bilateral_mandible_fracture

This review of the link between the presence of third molars and mandibular angle fractures included 7 retrospective studies suggesting an increased risk of fracure when third molars were present RR= 1.90(95%CI; 1.47-2.46).

[read the full story...]

Articaine: is it more effective than lidocaine in paediatric dentistry?

1 Response »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_54042145 - Child, dentists & X-ray

This review comparing articaine and lidocaine for local anesthesia use in children only identified 6 low quality studies. Little difference was seen between the two agents.

[read the full story...]

Temporomandibular disorders: Are intra-articular injections with platelet-rich plasma effective?

1 Response »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85397

This review of the effectiveness of intra-articular platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections in temporomandibular disorders included only 6 low quality RCTs providing very weak evidence for a potential benefit from PRP injection.

[read the full story...]

Tooth whitening: Does light activation improve efficacy?

2 Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_72878767

This review of the effect of light activation on tooth whitening efficacy included 21 RCTs finding that neither the efficacy nor the risk of tooth sensitivity of in-office bleaching was influenced by the use of light, regardless of the hydrogen peroxide concentration.

[read the full story...]

Glass ionomer cement or composite resin for class II restoration in primary molars

1 Response »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_72680830 - erupting incisors & caries

This review of composite resin or glass ionomer cement for Class II restorations in primary molars included 10 RCTSs finding similar clinical performance.

[read the full story...]

Peri-implantitis: Are surgical treatments effective?

1 Response »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_112057412

This review of surgical treatments for peri-implantitis included 16 studies, 9 of which were randomised trials providing limited evidence to suggest which methods are the most effective.

[read the full story...]

Primary molars: Hall technique most effective caries management option

1 Response »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
PMC 2

3 caries management options [conventional restorations (CR), the hall technique (HT), and non-restorative caries treatment (NRCT)] were investigated in this RCT. A 93% success rate was seen for the HT at 2.5 years compares with 70% for NRCT and 67% for CR.

[read the full story...]