Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) presents as a subjective burning sensation of the tongue, lips or entire oral cavity, but does not manifest any objective lesions or laboratory test findings. BMS is more common in middle-aged to elderly age groups. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a tongue protector in combination [read the full story…]
Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is one potential cause of dry mouth. It is thought to affect 0.5-1% of the population and is more common in females (M/F ratio 1:9). SS is an autoimmune disease characterised by chronic T- and B-cell infiltration of the salivary glands or lachrymal glands that results in gland dysfunction. SS has a [read the full story…]
Orofacial pain is a relatively common and is categorized into musculoskeletal; neuropathic; vascular; neurovascular; idiopathic; pain caused by local, distant, or systemic pathology; and psychogenic. Diagnosis can be challenging when psychosocial factors are present and while antidepressants have been used as a treatment there remains some controversy. The aim of this review was to assess [read the full story…]
There is a great deal of interest in using information and communication technology (ICT) to support and treat people with mental health conditions. In the broadest sense, ICT includes not just computers, but also telephones, TV and radio; essentially any medium that can communicate information in a multimedia format. ICT interventions can be delivered at [read the full story…]
The new batch of Cochrane systematic reviews are published today and there are a couple of important new mental health reviews that I’ll be blogging about over the next few days. First comes a piece of research looking at the effectiveness of collaborative care for patients with depression or anxiety. Collaborative care involves a range [read the full story…]
Dyslexia is a specific learning disorder characterised by difficulty with spelling and decoding words. The NHS Choices website explains that people with dyslexia typically have trouble with: phonological awareness (the ability to identify the units of sound within words) verbal memory (the ability to remember a sequence of verbal information for a short period of [read the full story…]
There is much interest in the use of the motivational interview, a directive patient centered style of counselling in dentistry to promote behaviour change. This trial looked at a single session of motivational interviewing (MI) on self-performed periodontal infection control. Patients with chronic periodontitis referred to a specialist clinic in Gothenburg, Sweden. Patients randomised to [read the full story…]
There are three new Cochrane review protocols on the September issue of the Cochrane Library. Chi CC, Wang SH, Peters MC, Kanjirath PP, Delamere FM, Wojnarowska F. Interventions for prevention of herpes simplex labialis (cold sores on the lips). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012, Issue 9. Art. No.: CD010095. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD010095. The main aim [read the full story…]
Early diagnosis and effective treatment of dementia will help large numbers of the population remain independent for longer. Cholinesterase inhibitors are one of the anti-dementia drugs that are used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, and they are often used immediately after diagnosis. This new systematic review from the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group, looks at [read the full story…]
Pain is not uncommon after dental procedures. This can be linked with an increase in fear of dental procedures and the possible avoidance of treatment. This is of particular importance in children and adolescents and the use of pre-operative analgesics had been suggested as a way of reducing peri-operative pain. The aim of this Cochrane [read the full story…]
