Derek Richards

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Derek Richards is a specialist in dental public health, Director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Dentistry and Specialist Advisor to the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP) Development Team. A former editor of the Evidence-Based Dentistry Journal and chief blogger for the Dental Elf website until December 2023. Derek has been involved with a wide range of evidence-based initiatives both nationally and internationally since 1994. Derek retired from the NHS in 2019 remaining as a part-time senior lecturer at Dundee Dental School until the end of 2023.

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Curcumin mouthwashes for plaque and gingivitis

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Tumeric, curcumin

This review of the efficacy of curcumin mouthwash on plaque and gingivitis in comparison with chlorhexidine included 6 RCTs. While the findings suggest that curcumin mouthwashes have promising anti-plaque and anti-gingivitis properties 5 of the 6 studies were at high risk of bias.

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Rubber dam use and restoration survival

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This Cochrane review update of the effects of rubber dam isolation compared with other types of isolation for direct and indirect restorative treatments included 6 RCTs. The findings provide some low-certainty evidence that rubber dam may lead to fewer direct restoration failures compared with cotton roll use after six months.

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Temporomandibular disorders: Prevalence in musicians

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This review of the the prevalence of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in musicians included 13 cross-sectional studies. The finding estimate a pooled prevalence = 53.9% (95%CI; 36.6% to 70.7%) however the certainty of the evidence is graded as very low.

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Pulp necrosis: Is it induced by orthodontic tooth movement?

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This review evaluating the evidence to support the possibility that orthodontic tooth movements could induce pulp necrosis included 12 studies. While the findings indicate there is evidence that these treatments do not induce pulp necrosis it has low to very low quality.

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Malignant oral lesions in children and adolescents

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Burkitt lymphoma, touch prep, Wright stain

This review of the the prevalence, types and distribution of malignant oral lesions in children and adolescents included 43 retrospective studies reporting on 64,522 biopsies. The findings indicate an overall prevlence of 1.93% (95%CI; 1.21 to 2.80.

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Third molar surgery – Lingual or buccal-based flaps?

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This review of postoperative discomfort, operative time, and wound healing in the short-term follow-up following surgical extraction of lower third molars with lingual- or buccal-based flaps included 7 RCTs. The quality of the included studies was limited and few differences were seen between the type of flaps.

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Sugar free gum and streptococcus mutans levels

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This review of the impact of sugar-free gum (SFG) on the level of oral micro-organisms, specifically Streptococcus mutans included 13 studies 11 of whihc were RCTs. The findings indicated that SFG reduces the load of Streptococcus mutans in the oral cavity compared to controls but noe of teh included studies were at low risk of bias.

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Traumatic dental injuries in primary teeth

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Can the physically active, playful environments of pre-school settings provide a blueprint for obesity prevention in primary schools?

This review of the prevalence of traumatic dental injuries (TDI) in primary teeth and factos associated with TDI includes 21 cross-sectional studies.

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Chronic periodontitis: Efficacy of adjunctive antimicrobials

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

This review of the efficacy of antimicrobials adjunctive to scaling and root planing (SRP) in the treatment of chronic periodontitis. 21 RCTs were included with the findings showing that amoxicillin and metronidazole had the largest statistical benefit. Whether this benefit is a clinically important benefit is a wider question.

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Orofacial trauma in wheeled non-motorsports

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This review of the prevalence of orofacial trauma in wheeled non-motor sports athletes included 5 cross-sectional studies involving 132,132 participants. Analyses showed the overall prevalence of orofacial trauma = 21.7% (95%CI; 8.7 to 34.7%) however the evidence was of very low certainty.

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