oral health

The optimal state of the mouth and normal functioning of the organs of the mouth without evidence of disease.

Our oral health Blogs

Early childhood caries: Global prevalence

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_156617546

The 2019 Bangkok Declaration defined early childhood caries (ECC) as the presence of a primary tooth with one or more carious (non-cavitated or cavitated lesions), missing (due to caries), or filled surfaces in a child under the age of six years. While dental caries is a preventable chronic health problem it remains a significant public [read the full story…]

Curcumin mouthwashes for plaque and gingivitis

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
Tumeric

This review of the efficacy of curcumin mouthwash on plaque and gingivitis in comparison with chlorhexidine included 6 RCTs. While the findings suggest that curcumin mouthwashes have promising anti-plaque and anti-gingivitis properties 5 of the 6 studies were at high risk of bias.

[read the full story...]

Sugar free gum and streptococcus mutans levels

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_88561078

This review of the impact of sugar-free gum (SFG) on the level of oral micro-organisms, specifically Streptococcus mutans included 13 studies 11 of whihc were RCTs. The findings indicated that SFG reduces the load of Streptococcus mutans in the oral cavity compared to controls but noe of teh included studies were at low risk of bias.

[read the full story...]

Traumatic dental injuries in primary teeth

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
Can the physically active, playful environments of pre-school settings provide a blueprint for obesity prevention in primary schools?

This review of the prevalence of traumatic dental injuries (TDI) in primary teeth and factos associated with TDI includes 21 cross-sectional studies.

[read the full story...]

Chronic periodontitis: Efficacy of adjunctive antimicrobials

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
Many drugs are licensed for use in Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), but it is unclear what works best.

This review of the efficacy of antimicrobials adjunctive to scaling and root planing (SRP) in the treatment of chronic periodontitis. 21 RCTs were included with the findings showing that amoxicillin and metronidazole had the largest statistical benefit. Whether this benefit is a clinically important benefit is a wider question.

[read the full story...]

Diabetes and dental implants

No Responses »
Profile photo of Manas Dave
Posted by
shutterstock_190809398

This review of the possible association between diabetes mellitus and dental implant complications included 10 cohort studies (8 prospective 2 retrospective). The findings suggest that patients with diabetes are more likely to have clinical complications with dental implants.

[read the full story...]

Parental presence and children’s dental anxiety

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_54042145 - Child, dentists & X-ray

This review of whether parents’ presence in the room influences children’s behaviour, anxiety and fear during dental treatment included 16 studies. The findings suggest that parents’ presence in the operation room does not influence children’s (up to 12 years old) behaviour, anxiety and fear during dental treatment. However the included studies are all at high risk of bias so the certainty of the evidence is very low.

[read the full story...]

Dental Fear in Adults

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_110356511

This review aiming to estimate the global prevalence of dental fear in adults included 31 observational studies the majority of which were at high risk of bias. The findings suggest an overal prevalence of 15.3 % (95%CI; 10.23 to 21.15%).

[read the full story...]

COVID-19 Dental Elf Blogs – 5

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
coronavirus 2 (SARS- CoV-2)

Since the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus just over a year ago we have published a number of dental blogs relevant to COVID-19. The blogs cover topics such as dental teams’ generic risk of disease, baseline risk of covid-19, asymptomatic patients and the risk of community spread, digital thermometers, mouthwash use, surgical mask types, gown [read the full story…]

Recurrent aphthous stomatitis and serum zinc levels

No Responses »
Profile photo of Manas Dave
Posted by
shutterstock_96140129

This review of the potential association between zinc levels and occurrence of Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) included 19 case-controlled studies. The findings show a sigificant association between low zinc levels and RAS.

[read the full story...]