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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Occlusal reduction: Does it reduce post endodontic pain?

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This review of the effect of occlusal reduction on post-operative pain following root canal treatment included 7 RCTs. While the findings suggest that occlusal reduction may reduce post endodontic pain the quality of the available evidence is very low so teh findings should be viewed cautiously.

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Avulsed teeth: Storage media used before replantation

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This review of the effectiveness of any technique available to laypeople for storing an avulsed tooth compared with storage in milk or saliva included 33 studies. Findings suggest that milk, Hank’s balanced salt solution, propolis, oral rehydration salts, rice water, and cling film extend periodontal ligament cell viability before replantation.

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Root canal disinfection: Sodium hypochlorite or chlorhexidine?

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This review comparing the antimicrobial efficacy of chlorhexidine (CHX) and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) in root canal disinfection included 8 small RCTs. While teh findings suggest that CHX and NaOCL have similar efficacy the certainty of teh availabel evidence is low.

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Interproximal caries detection: near-infrared light transillumination (NILT) compared to bitewing radiograph

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This review of the accuracy of the near-infrared light transillumination (NILT) for the detection of interproximal dental caries in permanent dentition included 13 studies with 6 contributing to a meta-analasis. Findings suggest that NILT is reasonably comparable to bitewings.

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Palatally Displaced Permanent Canines: Interceptive management

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This review of orthodontic procedures for the management of displaced permanent canines in the mixed dentition. 5 RCTs, all at high risk of bias were identified with treatment comparisons being mainly based on single studies.

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Subgingival instrumentation for treating periodontitis

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This review evaluating the efficacy of subgingival instruments for the treatment of periodontitis included 19 RCTs. The findings show that mechanical subgingival instrumentation is efficacious in the nonsurgical treatment of periodontitis, irrespective of type of instrument or mode of delivery.

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Non-surgical periodontal treatment and oral health related quality of life

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This review of the evidence for the relationship between non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) and patient-based outcomes included 13 mainly observational studies. While the findings suggest that NSPT improves oral health related quality of life but the quality of the evidence is limited.

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Third molars: Which surgical technique for removal?

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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.

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Root resorption: incidence after different types of traumatic dental injury

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This review of assess the incidence of different types of root resorption after concussion, subluxation, lateral luxation, intrusive luxation, and extrusive luxation included 14 observational studies. Findings suggest that resorption is most common following intrusive luxation.

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