This review of the efficacy of chewing gum in reducing pain intensity in patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment included 16 RCTs. The findings suggest , chewing gum was significantly more effective than both pharmacologic agents and placebo in reducing orthodontic pain 24 hours. However the evidence is of very low certainty.
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This review and network meta-analysis (NMA) of pharmacological treatments for the management of pain subsequent to simple and surgical tooth extraction included 85 RCTs. There was moderate- and high-certainty evidence that for surgical dental extractions that ibuprofen 200 to 400 mg plus acetaminophen 500 to 1,000 mg was the most effective for pain relief.
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This review of temporomandibular joint arthrocentesis versus conservative management for painful temporomandibular disorders (TMD) includes 7 RCTs. The findings suggest improvements in both pain and maximum mouth opening with arthrocentesis but these may not be clinically important.
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This review assessing the effect of disocclusion guidance on occlusal splints for sleep bruxism (SB) and temporomandibular disorders (TMD) included 15 studies. The included studies provided very low certainty evidence for most of the evaluated outcomes.
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This review and network meta-analyses of the effectiveness of self-applied dentifrices in the management of dentine hypersensitivity included 68 studies. Findings indicated that formulations including stannous, potassium +/- stannous, and arginine result in significant short ( 2-weeks) and long term inprovements. However the studies were hetrogeneous and only 4 were at low risk of bias.
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In this blog Rebecca Manson considers a systematic review assessing whether the use of animal-assisted therapy helps reduce anxiety during dental care in children and adolescents.
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This well conducted randomised controlled trial assessed inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) success of 2% mepivacaine and 4% articaine in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis (SIP) in mandibular molars during access cavity preparation and instrumentation.
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This review assess of listening to music to reduce preoperative anxiety and pain during third molar extractions included 5 RCTs. The findings suggest reducction in preoperative anxiety but the quality and number of studies is limited.
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This Cochrane review update comparing single and multiple vist root canal treatments in patients over the age of 10 included 47 RCTs. There was no evidence to suggest that one treatment regimen (single‐visit or multiple‐visit RoCT) is more effective than the other although more patients report pain in the first week with the single visit approach.
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This review comparing short (3–5 days) or longer courses (≥7 days) of antibiotics for the treatment of dental infections in general practice only included one small RCTs. No differences were seen between short an dlong courses but the findings should be interpreted cautiously becaise of the limited data available.
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