Fissure sealants have been available since the 1960’s and a 2008 Cochrane review by Ahovuo-Saloranta et al highlighted their effectiveness for preventing occlusal caries noting that their effectiveness is obvious in high caries risk children. The aim of this new study by Muller-Bolla et al, was to assess their effectiveness in a school-based dental sealant [read the full story…]
There is a tendency to focus on the prevention of dental caries in children yet is it is a problem that continues to affect old and young alike. While considerable time and effort is spent on preventive programmes for children far less consideration to adults. The American Dental Association Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry has published [read the full story…]
An increasingly elderly population have benefited from improvements in oral health care resulting in the retention of an increasing number of natural teeth. This brings the challenge of maintaining these teeth and their replacements in good disease free condition. However, studies indicate that oral health in this group is often poor. The aim of this [read the full story…]
The aim of this trial was to test the use of motivational interviewing (MI) as an approach to control caries in indigenous children. This cluster-randomised trial was conducted in Cree communities in Quebec. Cree women who recently had given birth or were between the 12th and 34th weeks of pregnancy were recruited. Mothers allocated to [read the full story…]
There has been a recent surge of interest in use of sliver-fluoride regimens for caries control as sadly dental caries is still a significant problem worldwide. The aim of this trial was to compare the effectiveness of annual topical application of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) solution, semi-annual topical application of SDF solution, and annual application [read the full story…]
The possible link between the MMR vaccine and autism has been shown to have no basis in evidence, despite such a link being posited in a 1998 paper in the Lancet. The paper was subsequently retracted following a GMC investigation of its author. The researchers in this US study point out that although the link [read the full story…]
Dental caries is unfortunately still a common problem among children worldwide. Cochrane reviews have shown the effectiveness of pit and fissure sealants (Hiiri et al 2009) and fluoride varnishes (Marinho et al 2002) . While other reviews have found silver diamine fluoride (SDF) to be effective (Rosenblatt et al 2009). The aim of this trial [read the full story…]
Recurrent herpes labialis (cold sores) is a common infection of the lip. The usual cause is the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) although HSV-2 is been increasingly implicated. It is estimated that 90% of the population have been exposed to HSV-1. 20-30% of those infected experience outbreaks of small blisters or sores on or [read the full story…]
While dental caries has a significant impact on adults much of the research on the prevention of this common disease is focussed on children. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that a chlorhexidine (CHX) coating, compared with a placebo coating, reduces dental caries increment in at-risk adults over a period of [read the full story…]
We recently reported on a other fluoride varnish study in a similar age group conducted in the UK. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of 5% sodium fluoride (NaF) varnish application in reducing caries increments in the permanent dentition of rural Brazilian school children over the course of 12 months. Children [read the full story…]
