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

Toothpaste and plaque removal

Plaque off, Fluoride on. Brushing your teeth really is that simple.
Image: Adam Drewes (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

This review of the efficacy of brushing with and without a toothpaste for plaque removal identified 10 trials involving a total of 444 patients. While the results suggest no differences other reviews have demonstrated clear oral health benefits from brushing with toothpaste.

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Oral Health in nursing homes: education for staff and residents

All the evidence relates to care homes and there is hardly any evidence for any other setting.

9 trials were included in this Cochrane review of oral health education & training for care home residents & staff . These trials provided insufficient evidence from which to draw evidence about the effects of the interventions so more high quality studies are needed.

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Essential oils mouthwash reduced plaque and gingival inflammation

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This review of essential oils mouthwashes included 16 RCTs and found them to be more effective for the reduction of plaque and gingival inflammation than mechanical plaque control either alone (placebo) or in combination with mouthwashes with CPC.

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Community-based oral health promotion interventions

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

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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Tooth whitening: Tray-delivered gels showed a slightly better whitening efficacy

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This review of tooth whitening included 13 randomised studies and suggests that tray-delivered carbamide peroxide gel provided better whitening efficacy than HP-based products. However the available evidence is very heterogeneous and short term.

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Fluoride mouthrinse: regular supervised use reduces tooth decay in children

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This Cochrane review includes 37 RCTs and found regular supervised use of fluoride mouthrinse by children and adolescents is associated with a large reduction in caries increment in permanent teeth.

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Orthodontic brackets: type unlikely to affect oral hygiene

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12 small studies were included in this review of orthodontic brackets and their effect on pain and oral hygiene. No differences were seen between self-ligating and conventional brackets

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Oral Health should have same priority as general health in care homes says NICE

Quality of life measures are one way of finding out how people are feeling about and experiencing their new life in a care home.

This new guidance from NICE focuses on improving and maintaining residents’ day-to-day oral healthcare, ensuring staff are properly trained to confidently look after the oral health needs of residents, and there is adequate access to dental services when needed

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Permanent tooth agenesis in Down syndrome

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This review included 13 observational studies involving 1080 patients demonstrating high prevalence and severity of tooth agenesis in Down syndrome individuals.

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