Smartphone application for dental anxiety in adolescents

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In this blog we look at a RCT investigating the effect of a smartphone App on dental anxiety, communication, cooperation, and satisfaction among Brazilian adolescent patients. The findings show a reduction in anxiety from 22.8% to 6.5% in the test group compared with a reduction form 20.7% to 18.8% in the control group.

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Pulpotomy v root canal treatment in permanent teeth

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This review of pulpotomy ( partial or full) v root canal treatment (RoCT) in permanent teeth with pulpitis included 2 RCTs involving 957 teeth. The findings suggests no difference in pain at 7 days or in success rates at 1 and 5 years but the evidence is limited.

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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and oral health

The study participants may not be representative of the real-world population

This review of the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) exposure and oral health among adults included 4 cross-sectional studies with the findings indicating an association between ACEs and poor oral health.

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Chewing gum for pain during and after orthodontic appliance installation

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This review of the efficacy of chewing gum in reducing pain intensity in patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment included 16 RCTs. The findings suggest , chewing gum was significantly more effective than both pharmacologic agents and placebo in reducing orthodontic pain 24 hours. However the evidence is of very low certainty.

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Pulpal and periapical pathosis after placing indirect coronal restorations

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This review investigating the incidence of and influential factors on pulp necrosis and periapical pathosis of vital teeth following indirect restorations included 37 studies. The findings suggest an overal incidence of pulpal necrosis of 5.02% (3.70 to 6.52%).

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Mouthwashes, microorganisms and gingivitis in orthodontic patients

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This review of the efficacy of mouthwashes on oral microorganisms and gingivitis in orthodontic patients included 32 RCTs. While the findings suggest short-term benefits with adjunctive mouthwash use the findings should be intertpreted cautiously as only one RCT was at low risk of bias and for almost all outccomes the certainty of evidence was rated as very low to low.

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Easter Break

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The Dental Elves will be taking a short break over Easter. Our next blog will appear on the 17th April.

Is a chewable toothbrush effective in children?

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This review comparing the effectiveness of a chewable toothbrush (CTB) with a manual toothbrush (MTB) in terms of plaque reduction included 7 RCTs. While no significant differences were found between CTB and MTB the availabel studies were small of short duration and of very low certainty.

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Tools for measuring oral health and orofacial pain in dependent adults

This study is the first of its kind from an RCT perspective which clearly shows that treating major depression in older adults using interventions in primary care settings can extend life

A group of Scottish Specialty Registrars in Special Care Dentistry look at a recent review of available measurement tools for assessing oral health and orofacial pain in dependent adults, which can be used by the non-dental caregivers. Nine tools were identified and despite a lack of comprehensive testing a number demonstrate reliability and validity.

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Clear aligners v fixed appliances for periodontal health

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This review of periodontal health maintenance and gingival recessions development in patients undergoing an orthodontic treatment with clear aligners (CA) or fixed appliances (FA) included 12 studies. The limited amount and quality of evidence was insufficient to assess whether CA were bettern than FA at maintaining periodontal health.

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