Vitamin D and dental caries risk in children

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This review of the association between higher dental caries experience and lower serum vitamin D levels in children included 13 studie. The findings suggest higher levels of caries in patients with lower vitamin D levels.

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Edentulism in diabetics compared to non-diabetics

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This review of the prevalence of edentulism among diabetic patients compared to non-diabetic people included 7 cross-sectional studies. The findings suggest a higher level of edentulism in diabetic patients but the findings should be interpreted cautiously.

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Metal or fibre posts for restoration of endodontically treated teeth?

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This review of the comparative efficacy of fibre and metal posts used for the restoration of endodontically treated teeth included 25 RCTs. The findings suggest that fibre post performe better than metal posts but the findings should be interpreted with caution.

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Fixed orthodontic bonded retainers – failure rates

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This review assessing the prevalence of failure of both maxillary and mandibular fixed orthodontic bonded retainers (FOBRs) included 34 studies. The findings incicate an overall failure rate of 28.17% (23.19 to 33.15%) based on 31 studies. However the certainty of the evidence was very low to low so the findings should be interpreted cautiously.

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Prevalence of middle mesial canal in mandibular molars

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This review to determine the prevalence of middle mesial canal (MMC) in mandibular molars using cone beam computed tomography included 34 studies. THTe findings suggest a MMC prevalence of 4.4% (95%Cl: 3.5% to 5.3%) in first permanent molars and 1.3% (95%Cl: 0.08% to 1.8%) in second permanent molars.

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Flap or flapless surgery for immediate implant placement?

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This review comparing immediate implant placement using flap or flapless surgery included 5 small RCTs involving a total of 140 patients. The findings suggested a benefit for flapless srugery but in addition to being small the studies were short term and 3 of the 5 studies were considered to be at high risk of bias.

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Prenatal vitamin D and enamel defects

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This review of the the potential impact of prenatal Vitamin D levels on enamel defects and tooth erosion included 7 studies. While the findings suggest an association between Vitamin D and emamel defects the studies varied in relation to the study designs, Vitamin D assessment methods, enamel defect assessment, and demographic characteristics of the populations studied so the findings should be interpreted very cautiously.

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Prevalence of maxillofacial trauma in children and adolescents

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This review of the prevalence of maxillofacial trauma by different causes in children and adolescents included 58 studies. The findings indicated that road traffic accidents and falls were the commonest causes. However rates do vary across difference geographic regions.

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Mouthguard wearing and athletic performance

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This review assessing the impact of wearing a mouthguard on athletic performance included 41 studies involving 852 athletes. While the findings suggest some potential benefits for athletic performance the included studies are small, very hetrogeneous with only 7 studies being at low risk of bias. Consequently the findings should be interpreted very cautiously.

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Music, audio-visuals or virtual reality for dental anxiety?

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This review of the effectiveness of relaxing music, audio-visuals (AV), and virtual reality (VR) in reducing dental anxiety associated with tooth extraction included 11 RCTs. The findings suggest that music performed better than VR and AV . However the limited number of studies and variation in anxiety scales, musical and visual interventions used means that the findings should be interpreted cautiously.

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