Clinical depression is one of the most common mental health problems occurring in children and adolescents. It is often accompanied or followed by additional negative outcomes, including social and academic problems, anxiety and substance use. Many depressed adolescents continue to have recurring problems throughout adulthood. A variety of antidepressant drugs, such as tricyclics and selective [read the full story…]
Periodontitis results in damage to the bone and connective tissues supporting the teeth. The use of barrier membranes aims to assist regeneration of periodontal tissues in order to overcome some of the limitations of conventional treatment. The aim of this review was to assess the outcomes of guided tissue regeneration (GTR) using an absorbable collagen [read the full story…]
In the Woodland we have previously looked at musical interventions for agitation in dementia and depression. In June 2013 the Cochrane Collaboration published a systematic review of musical interventions for preoperative anxiety. As may be expected, people awaiting surgical procedures often experience high levels of anxiety. This anxiety is important as it can result in [read the full story…]
The aim of this review was to compare, the success rate of dental implants placed simultaneously or as a second surgery following ridge augmentation by means of guided bone regeneration (GBR) or onlay graft regeneration technique. Searches were conducted in Medline and Embase and screening conducted independently by two reviewers. Both prospective and retrospective study [read the full story…]
Antipsychotic medication is the standard treatment for schizophrenia and psychosis in the UK. Given that psychosis is commonly a chronic condition and therefore that medication used to treat it often needs to be taken for several years, getting the medication “right” is important. As I mentioned in my first blog post for the Mental Elf, [read the full story…]
Dental implants are being used increasingly and some implant failures may be due to bacterial contamination at insertion. Prophylactic antibiotic regimens have been proposed to minimise infection. The aim of this review was to address the question, does the use of antibiotics, when compared with a control group, reduce the frequency of implant failure and [read the full story…]
Two new protocols for Cochrane reviews have appeared on this latest release of the Cochrane Library. The first is Fleming PS, Pandis N, Johal A, El-Angbawi A, Fedorowicz Z. Adjunctive surgical procedures for accelerating tooth movement in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment (Protocol). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013, Issue 6. Art. No.: CD010572. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD010572. [read the full story…]
Varnishes have been is use as a delivery system for topical fluoride since the 1960s. Their effectiveness was highlighted to a greater extent following the publication of the first version of this Cochrane review in 2002. Since then use of fluoride varnish has been recommended in evidence-based guidance from SIGN, the SDCEP and the American [read the full story…]
Fracture of the mandible is a common facial injury with interpersonal violence and road traffic accidents being the leading causes of this type of injury. Treatment usually involves immobilisation with intermaxillary fixation (IMF) or other external or internal devices (i.e. plates and screws) to allow bone healing and may involve surgical (open) or non-surgical (closed) [read the full story…]
A highlight for elves in a hurry Preventive interventions for postnatal psychosis1 is a systematic review published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in 2013. It aimed to investigate the best available evidence on interventions for preventing Postnatal Psychosis derived from all relevant randomized controlled trials. Unfortunately, no studies were found. Thus, this review [read the full story…]
