Manas Dave takes a look at this systematic review of the efficacy of dexamethasone in the treatment of oral lichen planus (OLP).
[read the full story...]Effectiveness of topical dexamethasone for oral lichen planus
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Third molar extraction– effect of preoperative oral corticosteroids on pain, swelling and trismus
Four RCTs involving a total of 212 patients were included in this review of a single pre-operative dose of oral corticosteroids in reducing pain,swelling & trismus after surgical removal of lower third molars. While the findings suggested there was little benefit to the patients none of the studies were small and none of them were at low risk of bias.
[read the full story...]Titanium or biodegradable osteosyntheses in orthognathic surgery?
This review assessing the efficacy and morbidity of biodegradable vs. titanium osteosyntheses in orthognathic surgery included 33 studies 11 of which were RCTs. The findings suggest that biodegradable osteosyntheses is a valid alternative to titanium osteosyntheses for orthognathic surgery, but the quality of evidence is low.
[read the full story...]Caries risk models – Predictive performance
Sergio Uribe in his first Dental ELf blog looks at this review of the predictive performance of seven caries risk assessment models. While the findings suggest a resonable performance from the full and reduced Cariogram more high quality studies are needed in particular in relation to communication of risk to patients and its impact.
[read the full story...]Oral cancer – adjunctive diagnostic tests
This Cochrane review update was to estimate the diagnostic accuracy of index tests for the detection of oral cancer and oral potentially malignant disorders, in people presenting with clinically evident suspicious and innocuous lesions.
[read the full story...]Treatments for cavitated or dentine carious lesions
This Cochrane review of interventions to treat carious lesions conventionally considered to require restorations in primary or permanent teeth with vital pulps included 27 RCTs. Compared with conventional treatment there were lower numbers of failures with the Hall technique and selective excavation (SE) in primary teeth and with SE and stepwise removal in permanent teeth.
[read the full story...]Lasers for treatment of dentine hypersensitivity?
This Cochrane review of the effectiveness of lasers in the treatment of dentine hypersensitivity included 23 RCTs. The findings suggest that lasers may reduce pain intensity at short, medium, or long term when compared to placebo/no treatment. However the evidence is limited and of low to very low certainty.
[read the full story...]Oral proliferative verrucous leukoplakia and the rate of malignant transformation
This review of the evidence on the malignant transformation of oral proliferative verrucous leukoplakia included 17 mainly retrospective observational studies. The overall estimate for malignant transformation was 43.87% (95% CI; 31.93 to 56.13) but only 4 studies were at low risk of bias.
[read the full story...]Tooth loss during long-term periodontal maintenance
This review evaluating risk factors / predictors of tooth loss in patients with periodontitis having periodontal therapy and long-term periodontal maintenance (PM) included 33 studies only 3 of which were prospective. There findings suggest that patients having long-term PM suffer the loss of 1 tooth per patient every 10 years.
[read the full story...]Orthodontic retainers and periodontal health
This review comparing the effects of vacuum-formed retainers (VFR) and Hawley retainers (HR) on periodontal health included 6 RCTs. While the findings suggests a statistical benefit in favour of HR in the short term the studies are small, short-term and most ( 5) were considered to be at high risk of bias.
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