Our most popular blogs from January, February and March 2020 were about the FiCTION trial, local anaesthesia and factors associated with third molar surgical difficulty.
[read the full story...]Top Dental Elf Blogs: Jan – Mar 2020
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Third molars: Which local anaesthetic is most suitable for inferior alveolar nerve blocks?
This review comparing the efficacy and safety of currently available local anaesthetics for lower third molar extraction included 24 RCTs. The findings suggest that 4% articaine was the most effective and lidocaine the safest.
[read the full story...]Third molars: Which surgical technique for removal?
This Cochrane review upate compares the relative benefits and risks of different techniques for surgical removal of mandibular wisdom teeth. While the review includes 25 new trials the quality of the studies was variable with many having biases that could have influenced the findings so no meaningful conclusions could be drawn.
[read the full story...]Third molars: Remove or retain asymptomatic disease-free impacted teeth?
This Cochrane review of the effects of removal compared with retention (conservative management) of asymptomatic disease-free impacted wisdom teeth updates the 2016 version. No new studies were identified so the conclusions are unchanged.
[read the full story...]Third molars: Envelope or triangular flap for mandibular third molar surgery?
This review comparing the effects of envelope and triangular flaps for mandibular third molar surgery included 20 RCTs involving 770 patients. A majority of the studies were of cross-over design with the findings suggesting no differences in teh outcomes between the two flap designs.
[read the full story...]Third molars: Factors associated with surgical difficulty
This review of variables associated with surgical difficulty in the extraction of third molars included 16 prospective cohort studies suggesting a number of variable that may be associated with surgical difficulty.
[read the full story...]Third molar extraction: Does closure technique influence post-operative complications?
This review to assess the influence of two suture methods on the postoperative complications of lower third molar extraction included 5 RCTs . Findings suggest the use of secondary closure has a favourable effect on pain, facial swelling, and trismus but the quality of the evidence is limited.
[read the full story...]Platelet-rich fibrin and third molar surgery outcomes
This review of the effectiveness of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) in reducing postoperative complications of third molar surgery included 10 small RCTs suggesting that PRF may reduce but not prevent some complications.
[read the full story...]COX-2 inhibitors for pain management after third molar removal
This review comparing the efficacy of Cox-2 inhibitors with ibuprofen after third molar removal included 12 RCTs suggesting that COX-2 inhibotors and Ibuprofen provide similar pain relief at 6, 8, and 12 h after third molar removal.
[read the full story...]Third molars: Distal caries development in adjacent second molars
This review of the prevalence of distal surface caries in second permanent molars associated with retained third molars included 11 mainly retrospective observational studies findins a pooled prevalence of 23% (95% CI; 2% to 44%).
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