The prevalence of mouth ulcers (recurrent aphthous stomatitis , RAS) has been estimated at between 5 – 60%. They can be painful and slow to heal. There are three recognized forms; minor, major and herpetiform. The peak age at onset is between 10 and 19 years of age but they can persist through adulthood. The [read the full story…]
Earlier this week (11th Sept ) we reported on a trial that compared the use of two different irrigant solutions during root canal treatment (RoCT). Now a review that aims to assess the effects of irrigants used in the non-surgical of mature permanent teeth has been published on the Cochrane Library. The usual sound Cochrane [read the full story…]
Osteoarthritis of the knee is a common condition and typically presents with painful and restricted function and sometimes varus (bow legs) and valgus (knock knees) deformity of the knee. Once the condition and pain worsens knee joint replacement surgery is a treatment option. Patients typically improve in terms of pain and function but there is [read the full story…]
Double crown reconstructions provide the possibility of restoring a dentition using a few remaining teeth located in unfavorable positions for other prosthetic approaches Although they require high precision from both the dental technician and clinician. The aim of this review was to systematically screen the literature for data related to the survival and complication rates [read the full story…]
Over the last few years, we have seen more and more children and young people being prescribed antipsychotic drugs. The theory behind this increase is that the newer antipsychotic drugs have fewer side effects than the older typical antipsychotics. However, some small and relatively short duration studies have shown that the newer drugs may also [read the full story…]
Can you imagine how frustrating for patients it must be to wait for a surgical consultation only to be told you don’t need surgery and then be sent away. Then enter the Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner whose roles beyond those of a regular physiotherapist include activities traditionally the role of medical staff such as; screening patients [read the full story…]
Comorbidities are common in mental health and the relationship between physical and mental health conditions appears to be bidirectional. Having a chronic physical condition like diabetes can increase your risk of depression (by as much as 3 times). Having an enduring mental health problem such as psychosis can take 15-20 years off your life. In [read the full story…]
Life expectancy in people with learning disabilities has increased over recent years, and sleep problems become more common in people who are advancing in years. Sleep problems are also generally more common in people with learning disabilities than those without. The authors of this systematic review were interested to look at the way in which [read the full story…]
Regular readers of the Mental Elf will recall the blogs (Here is the evidence for exercising if you are depressed and New Cochrane review shows that exercise helps with depression) I wrote back in June and July about the evidence for exercising if you have depression. A new systematic review was published in the British [read the full story…]
Dentine hypersensitivity – is a short sharp pain that arises from exposed dentine typically in response to thermal stimuli. The aim of this review and network meta-analysis was to compare the effectiveness of different in-surgery treatments for dentine hypersensitivity. The databases Medline, Science Direct, ISI web of science, Ovid, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled [read the full story…]
