Most popular Dental Elf Blogs Apr – Jun 2023

Cherry Blossom

Between April and July our most popular blogs looked at chewing gum for orthodontic pain, mouthwashes to promote gingival healing and the impact of malocclusion on quality of life.

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Oil pulling for oral health

coconut oil

This review of oil pulling compared to chlorhexidine and other mouthwashes in improving the plaque, gingival and bacteria count parameters included 25 RCTs. However, the studies are modest in size of short duration and all except one study were considered to be at high risk of bias. Consequently the available evidence is of very low certainty and should be interpreted cautiously.

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Mouthwashes and gingival healing after surgical procedures

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This review of the effect of different mouthwashes on gingival healing used after oral surgery in adults included 13 RCTs. The trials assessed 12 different products and concentrations and only one RCTs was considered to be at low risk of bias so the findings should be interpreted cautiously.

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Adjunctive chlorhexidine for gingival health in orthodontic patients

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This review of the efficacy of chlorhexidine (CHX) products in maintaining gingival health in orthodontic patients with fixed appliances included 20 RCTs only 1 of which was at low risk of bias. The findings showed a benefcial effect on gingival parameters with CHX mouthwash at 1-3 months but the findings should be interpreted cautiously.

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Mouthwashes, microorganisms and gingivitis in orthodontic patients

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This review of the efficacy of mouthwashes on oral microorganisms and gingivitis in orthodontic patients included 32 RCTs. While the findings suggest short-term benefits with adjunctive mouthwash use the findings should be intertpreted cautiously as only one RCT was at low risk of bias and for almost all outccomes the certainty of evidence was rated as very low to low.

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Sodium bicarbonate for the management of oral mucositis

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This review of the effectiveness of sodium bicarbonate in the prevention and management of oral mucositis included 11 RCTs. The included studies were small, hetrogeneous and suggested little benefit from the use of sodium bicoarbonate mouthwashes.

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Chlorine dioxide mouthwash for halitosis

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This review investigating the efficacy of chlorine dioxide mouthwashes in patients with halitosis included 10 RCTs. The findings suggest a potential benefit in the short-term. However the included studies are hetrogeneous and all have some concerns regarding bias so additional high quality well reported studies are needed.

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Nursing home oral health care measures and pneumonia

The study highlights that there is limited understanding by family carers and older people of funding arrangements, and it often falls to the care home providers to supply information.

This Cochrane review update of the effects of oral care measures in preventing nursing home-acquired pneumonia inlides 6 RCTs. Low-certainty evidence suggests that professional oral care may reduce mortality compared to usual care when measured at 24 months but evidence for other effects is inconclusive.

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Pre-treatment mouthwash to reduce patient to dentist infections

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This Cochrane review of the effects of preprocedural mouth rinses used in dental clinics to minimise incidence of infection in dental healthcare providers included 17 RCTs. The studies measured only reduction in level of bacterial contamination in aerosols with no studies evaluating viral or fungal contamination.The evidence was of low or very low certainty.

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Oral health self-care behaviours in people with a serious mental illness

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This review of the of oral health self-care behaviours in people with serious mental illness (SMI) included 33 studies. Most of the included studies (18) were cross-sectional and a mjority (20)were considered to be of weak design.

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