Can we encourage patients to continue taking complementary and alternative (CAM) treatments for antenatal depression or should we be firmly discouraging them from doing so? We already know from surveys that 11% of primary care patients with anxiety and depression are taking complementary or alternative therapies, which is around the same proportion of people who [read the full story…]
An update of the Cochrane review on routine scale and polish is now available. Scaling and polishing is provided by dentists or hygienists at regular intervals. It is often a regular component of ‘a dental checkup’ whether or not a patient is at risk of developing periodontal disease. The objectives were:- to determine the beneficial [read the full story…]
Substance use is common in people with mental health problems, and this can have important negative consequences for health and social function. The high comorbidity of mental health problems and substance use is a major contributor to the shorter life expectancy of this population – a person with a severe mental disorder can expect to [read the full story…]
As the number of dental implants being placed increases it seems inevitable that the numbers affected by peri-implantitis will also increase. Peri-implantitis is inflammation of the peri-implant tissues accompanied with changes in the level of crestal bone and with the presence of bleeding on probing and/or suppuration, with or without concomitant deepening of peri-implant pockets. [read the full story…]
Payment methods have been linked with the professional behaviour of primary care practitioners. The main methods of payment are fee-for-service, fixed salary and capitation payments or combinations of these. The aim of this review was to evaluate the effects of different methods of remuneration on the level and mix of activities provided by primary care [read the full story…]
Internal fixation for orthognathic surgery is commonly performed using titanium plates and screws although in recent years there has been an increase in the use of bioresorbable fixation systems. However there are concerns about the stability of fixation. The aim of this review was to include all publicly available literature on the skeletal stability of [read the full story…]
Osseointegrated dental implants have been available since the late 1970s, initial placement protocols recommended an initial load free healing period. Improved understanding of osseointegration has lead to the use of immediate or early loading protocols. The aim of this study was to compare the feasibility of loading four implants with a pre-existing denture converted to [read the full story…]
Worldwide, around 100,000 young people take up smoking every day and approximately 1 in 4 young people in the UK and USA smoke regularly. Although these figures have been falling over the last 20 years, they still represent a major public health concern. Evidence suggests that addiction to nicotine develops quickly in adolescence, and most [read the full story…]
A 2010 Cochrane review (Cepeda et al) found that there was less pain associated with pain on injection and augmented patient comfort and satisfaction with the use of buffered lidocaine compared with unbuffered lidocaine in both parallel and crossover trials. Although none of the 23 trials included in the review were dental. The aim of [read the full story…]
Anxiety disorders, such as generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety, panic disorder and phobias, are common and affect between 5 – 19% of all children and adolescents (Costello, 2004; as cited in James et al, 2013, pg. 6). Anxiety problems in childhood or adolescence can disrupt social and educational life, and may persist into adulthood. [read the full story…]
