Chewing gum for pain during and after orthodontic appliance installation

shutterstock_88561078

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.

[read the full story...]

Acute pain management following dental extraction

volodymyr-hryshchenko-m1Hq4ibP9rc-unsplash

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.

[read the full story...]

Arthrocentesis or conservative management for painful temporomandibular disorders

shutterstock_128569418

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.

[read the full story...]

Effects of occlusal splint guidance on treatment for bruxism and temporomandibular disorders

splint

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.

[read the full story...]

Self-applied dentifrices for managing dentine hypersensitivity

Scanning_electron_micrograph_of_dentin_with_open_dentinal_tubules

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.

[read the full story...]

Does animal-assisted therapy help reduce dental anxiety?

jamie-street-wcO2PWLuQ3U-unsplash

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.

[read the full story...]

Inferior alveolar nerve block 2% mepivacaine versus 4% articaine – trial

shutterstock_17571817- injection

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.

[read the full story...]

Listening to music to reduce the pain and anxiety of third molar surgery

music

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.

[read the full story...]

Single or multiple visit root canal therapy?

shutterstock_140418271

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.

[read the full story...]

Antibiotics for dental infections – Short or long duration courses?

Many drugs are licensed for use in Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), but it is unclear what works best.

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.

[read the full story...]