Hannah Wallace summarises a systematic review exploring people’s experiences of psychotherapy for self-harming behaviours, which highlights the importance of therapeutic rapport and the clinical competencies that support developing a good relationship between clinicians and service users.
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This review comparing the effect of CAD/CAM-based and conventional fixed retainers on the stability of treatment outcomes and periodontal health in patients undergoing orthodontic retention using fixed retainers includeds 7 RCTs. The studies are of moderate size and relatively short duration (6 to 12months) and there are quality concerns so the findings should be viewed cautiously.
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Gerard Clarke explores a recent study which looks into the interplay of metabolome and gut microbiome in individuals with major depressive disorder.
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This review of whether supportive care is effective in preventing recurrence or progression of peri-implantitis included 15 studies. However none of the included studies was specifically designed to test supportive care regimens so there is a need for new well conducted and reported randomised trials of appropraite size and duration to provide better quality evidence.
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Lucinda Powell reflects on an early evaluation of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Trailblazer programme, which looked at the first 25 ‘Trailblazer’ sites implementing mental health support teams in schools.
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This review of the level of toothbrush contamination and the factors affecting contamination in the general population included 15 studies. The findings show that toothbrush contamination occurs after first use and rises with continuing use. However, there is little evidence of significant adverse events from current practices.
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This review of oil pulling compared to chlorhexidine and other mouthwashes in improving the plaque, gingival and bacteria count parameters included 25 RCTs. However, the studies are modest in size of short duration and all except one study were considered to be at high risk of bias. Consequently the available evidence is of very low certainty and should be interpreted cautiously.
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Ross Nedoma summarises the biggest review yet on exercise for depression, which strengthens the case for making exercise a key component in our fight against depression.
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This umbrella review of the proportion of oral cancer development in oral submucous fibrosis patients included 4 systematic reviews published between 2019 and 2022. Mean values for malignant transformation across the reviews range from 4.2% to 6%.
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In his debut blog, Liam Mackay summarises a recent study that shows an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and non-suicidal self-harm in bisexual and lesbian/gay individuals. The study also highlights common mental health problems, discrimination and bullying as potential contributors to this excess risk.
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