Health Promoting Schools can improve some areas of health, but more research is needed

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My grandfather had a nearly religious conviction of the value of physical activity. No weekend was complete without a strenuous bout of outdoor exercise, regardless of the weather.  New England gets cold and damp, and his five children would prepare themselves for winter excursions with some reluctance. ‘Healthy body, healthy mind!’ my grandfather would say, exhorting them [read the full story…]

Second group of reviewers find some evidence for use of facemask for class III malocclusions

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The aim of this review was to evaluate the short-term skeletal effects of facemask treatment on growing Class III patients. Searches were conducted in PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, LILACS, and Google Scholar. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) conducted on growing class III patients using protraction facemask were included. [read the full story…]

Review finds insufficient evidence to determine whether Hawley or vacuum-formed retainers are most effective following orthodontic treatment

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Retention is an essential phase of orthodontic treatment without which there is a tendency for teeth to return to their initial position. The aim of this review was to compare the effects of Hawley retainers (HRs) and vacuum-formed retainers (VFRs) Searches were conducted in Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Medline, Embase, ISI Web [read the full story…]

Spoilt for choice? Four new Cochrane reviews on antipsychotics for schizophrenia

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Schizophrenia is a crippling condition characterised by psychotic experiences such as delusions and hallucinations. It can be hugely debilitating for the patient and their family and it can also be an enormous challenge for psychiatrists and other health and social care professionals who are responsible for providing care and support to the service user. Currently, [read the full story…]

Available evidence is insufficient to show if sinus lift techniques or short implants are more effective in reducing failures of dental prostheses

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The amount of bone available in the upper jaw following the loss of teeth is reduced to alveolar bone loss and the presence of the maxillary sinus. Sinus lift procedures increase bone volume by augmenting the sinus cavity with autogenous bone or commercially available biomaterials, or both. This review is an update of the 2010 [read the full story…]

Cochrane review finds no good quality evidence for common medicines used to treat sleep problems in Alzheimer’s Disease

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People with dementia caused by Alzheimer’s Disease (ADD) (which is estimated to be around three quarters of people with dementia) often suffer from sleep disturbances.  These symptoms cause distress to the person with dementia and to their carers, increase the likelihood of admission to a care home, and are also very difficult for care home [read the full story…]

New Cochrane Protocol – May 2014

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The aim of this review is to assess the effects of behavioural techniques, pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for management of gagging in patients undergoing dental procedures. As the authors note gaging-related problems contributed to about 20% of dental avoidance cases and a wide range of methods have been describe for management of the gaging patients. [read the full story…]

Little evidence available on the effectiveness of SLA and SLActive dental implants

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In recent years a number of variations to implant surfaces have been introduced as it is considered that surface topography has an important role. Modifications have included, sandblasting, acid-etching, grit- blasting, anodisation, discrete calcium-phosphate crystal deposition, coatings with biological molecules and chemical modification. The aim of this review was to assess he survival percentage, clinical [read the full story…]

Small study suggests possible role for low-level laser therapy in treating recurrent oral ulcers

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Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is the most common form of oral ulceration. Prevalence rates for the general population vary between 5-60%. Onset generally peaks between the ages of 10-19 an often persists in to adulthood. A wide range of topical and systematic treatments have been utilised including low-level laser therapy. The aim of the study [read the full story…]

Small trial suggests limited short-term benefit from 0.1% pilocarpine mouthwash for xerostomia

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Xerostomia is a subjective sensation of dry mouth, this is a common symptom particularly in older adults and has a variety of causes. Pilocarpine is a cholinergic agonist that non-selectively binds to muscarinic receptors in smooth muscles in the gastrointestinal, urinary and pulmonary systems and stimulates the production of secretions from the salivary and sweat [read the full story…]