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

Bioactive glass and hydroxyapatite to occlude dentinal tubules

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In her first blog for the Dental Elf Rebecca Manson takes a look at an in-vitro review of bioactive glass and hydroxyapatite for the occlusion of dentinal tubules. The findings provide some evidence that that bioactive glass/hydroxyapatite are effective in occluding dentinal tubules in an in-vitro setting. Well conducted long term clinical trials are needed to assess effectiveness in a clinical setting.

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Global prevalence of edentulism in the over 45s

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This review summarising global data on the prevalence of edentulism and dental caries of people aged ≥45 years living in the community included 86 studies. The estimated global prevalence of edentulism in those ≥45 years was 22% (95%CI; 19 to 24%).

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Recurrent aphthous stomatitis – topical interventions

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This review of the efficacy and safety of topical interventions used for recurrent aphthous stomatitis included 72 studies assessing 29 different interventions. Most of the interventions did not demonstrate significant differences with limitednumbers of studies for some interventions and overal limitations in the quality of the evidence.

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Manual toothbrushes – efficacy of new and used brushes

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Today we take a look at a review comparing the anti-plaque and anti-gingivitis efficacy of new and worn manual brushes. The review included 8 RCTs and suggest that new and worn toothbrushes present similar anti-plaque and anti-gingivitis efficacy. However, the evidence is of very low to low certainty.

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Nursing home oral health care measures and pneumonia

The study highlights that there is limited understanding by family carers and older people of funding arrangements, and it often falls to the care home providers to supply information.

This Cochrane review update of the effects of oral care measures in preventing nursing home-acquired pneumonia inlides 6 RCTs. Low-certainty evidence suggests that professional oral care may reduce mortality compared to usual care when measured at 24 months but evidence for other effects is inconclusive.

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Adjunctive therapies during supportive periodontal care

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This review of adjunctive therapies during supportive periodontal care (SPC) in patients with residual/relapsing pockets included 12 studies that currently provide insufficient/poor evidence to determine the efficacy of adjunctive strategies to improve SPC.

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Antibiotics for dental infections – Short or long duration courses?

Many drugs are licensed for use in Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), but it is unclear what works best.

This review comparing short (3–5 days) or longer courses (≥7 days) of antibiotics for the treatment of dental infections in general practice only included one small RCTs. No differences were seen between short an dlong courses but the findings should be interpreted cautiously becaise of the limited data available.

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Mastication and chronic disease in older adults

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In this blog Carly Ross assess a review of the associations between objectively assessed masticatory performance, chronic systemic diseases and physical function in older adults.

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Caries prevention in older adults

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This review of the effectiveness of professionally applied fluoride therapy in preventing and arresting dental caries in older adults aged 60 years or above included 7 studies. The findings suggest that 5% NaF varnish, 38% SDF solution, and 1.23% APF gel were effective in preventing root caries but the studies were varied in treatment protocols, intervention method and follow-up period so more research in needed.

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