Atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) involves the removal of so softened carious enamel and dentine with hand instruments and filling the cavity with a adhesive restorative material. Typically this is a high-viscous glass ionomer cement (GIC). This approach was about 25 years ago to provide care in less industrialised areas with high disease levels but is [read the full story…]
The reduced life expectancy (15-20 years less) often faced by many people with schizophrenia is frequently a result of cardiovascular disease. Lifestyle choices (smoking, lack of exercise and poor diet) can increase the risk of these diseases, but people who take antipsychotic drugs often have the additional problem of weight gain that is caused by [read the full story…]
The use of dental implants has become relatively common and systematic reviews have shown good survival rates for a number of implant systems. However, there is a profusion of systems available with a range of surface modifications. The main aim of this review was to evaluate the long-term survival data of calcium phosphate-coated dental implants [read the full story…]
Chronic pain is a major health concern, which increases in prevalence and impact with age. This is important as chronic pain can result in a significant decrease in function and quality of life along with an increase in use of health and social care. Self-management is a potentially inexpensive form of pain management and it [read the full story…]
People who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often have nightmares that relive the experience and these can sometimes be as terrifying as the original trauma. These nightmares can be very difficult to treat effectively as there are few options available. A team of researchers from the Mayo Clinic have published a systematic review that [read the full story…]
Teeth are extracted every day in dental surgeries throughout the world because of tooth decay and periodontal (gum) disease. Alveolar osteitis (dry socket) is a complication that can follow an extraction with estimates of its incidence ranging from <1-37.5%. Typically a blood clot is absent in the socket and the patients have pain in and [read the full story…]
Nearly a year ago I blogged about a promising but small RCT, which showed that Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy may help young children with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The blog generated a fair bit of feedback from readers and so I’ve been on the look out ever since for a systematic review that brings [read the full story…]
Pulpotomy procedure are used to maintain a carious tooth by removing the infected pulp and lasers have been shown to reduce bacterial levels in human tissue. The aim of this review was to identify studies comparing laser with conventional techniques for pulpotomy procedures in primary teeth and to evaluate their methodological quality, to assess whether [read the full story…]
It has been suggested that root surface biomodification (RSB) with chemical agents, improves outcomes of periodontal surgery and scaling and root planning. The aim of this review was to determine if RSB has any positive or negative effects when used before root coverage procedures? Medline and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials together with [read the full story…]
Caries in children aged 71 months and younger or early childhood caries (ECC) has been reported with a prevalence of between 20 and 80% in some populations. The aim of this review was two fold, to assess the association between the acquisition of oral cariogenic bacteria and caries outcomes in infants and to identify the [read the full story…]
