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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Preformed paediatric crowns: little evidence for aesthetic crowns

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Only 7 small studies at high risk of bias were available for this review of preformed paediatric aesthetic crowns. They provide little evidence on which to r change of practice particular for posterior teeth where the use of stainless steel crowns is recommended.

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Lasers for caries removal: evidence insufficient to support their use

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This Cochrane review included 9 small RCTs with either a high or unclear risk of bias providing evidence that was insufficient to support the use of laser as an alternative to the drill for caries removal.

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Community-based oral health promotion interventions

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The review found that adding family-based interventions to school-based interventions may reduce the onset of smoking by 4-25%.

This Cochrane review of community-based oral health promotion interventions included 38 studies and suggests that interventions combining oral health education with supervised toothbrushing or professional preventive oral care can reduce dental caries in children.

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Rubber Dam use may increase restoration survival time

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Only 4 studies were included in the Cochrane review of the impact of rubber dam isolation on dental restorations. The findings suggest that using rubber dam may results in lower failure rates

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Digital imaging for caries: direct digital sensors or photostimulable phosphor plates?

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This review compared direct digital sensors and indirect photostimulable phosphor plates for the detection of caries. Six studies were included in the review with 4 contributing to the meta-analysis. There was no significant difference between the two systems and they displayed good specificity and limited sensitivity.

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Composite restorations: no difference in longevity with direct or indirect placement

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This review of the clinical performance of direct and indirect resin composite restorations in permanent teeth included 9 small RCTs . The findings suggest no difference in clinical longevity but the evidence is limited.

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All-ceramic crowns: failure rates higher in posterior teeth

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This review of the failure rates of all-ceramic crowns included 14 (9 prospective, 5 retrospective) studies. Using a broad definition of failure there was little difference between rates in anterior and posterior crowns.

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Oral health advice for people with serious mental illness: lack of evidence about effectiveness

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The research found that mindfulness helped more with the negative symptoms of schizophrenia

This Cochrane review update of oral health advice for patients with serious mental illness only included 3 RCTs. The identified studies were of low to moderate quality providing limited evidence to support decision making about the effectiveness of oral health advice for people with serious mental illness.

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Alveolar ridge preservation techniques: evidence limited

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This review of alveolar ridge preservation techniques addressed two questions. They main one of benefit over unassisted healing only included 9 small studies of short duration providing limited evidence to support its use.

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Fibre posts: failure rates and restoration type

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This review of complication in teeth restored with fibre posts only included 4 small studies providing little evidence to inform clinical practice

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