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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Dental implants: Immediate, early or conventional loading?

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This review looked at the efficacy of immediate loading versus early or conventional loading implants in patients rehabilitated with fixed prostheses. It included 39 RCTs suggesting little difference between the loading strategies.

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Toombak: A risk factor for oral leukoplakia and cancer

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29 September 2013. El Fasher: A trader shows a tray with tombac (chewing tobacco) at the market in El Fasher, North Darfur. Tombac is one of North Darfur’s major cash crops. The traditional markets for tombac include South Sudan, Blue Nile and South Kordofan states. Farmers assure four million people in Darfur are dependent on the cultivation and sale of tobacco. They claim that tobacco had been produced in the region since 1850. Originally, the production of tombac started in Tombouctou (Mali) and later it was imported to Egypt and Darfur. Photo by Albert González Farran, UNAMID

This review of the association between toombak use and oral leukoplakia and oral squamous cell carcinoma included 8 observational studies suggesting a strong association.

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Malocclusion in Down syndrome children and adolescents

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This review of the occurence of maloclusion in children/adolescents with Down syndrome included 11 studies and suggests a higher prevalence of malocclusion.

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Vegetarian diet and oral health

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This review of the association between a vegetarian diet and (a) non-carious/cervical lesions (NCCL), (b) dental caries and (c) number of natural teeth included 18 mainly cross-sectional studies suggesting a possible link with a higher prevalence of dental erosion.

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Tooth-implant supported fixed dental prostheses survival rates

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This review of the survival and complication rates of tooth-implant supported fixed dental prostheses (T-I FDPs) includes 8 prospective cohort studies and 185 T-I FDPs suggesting acceptable 5 and 10 year survival rates.

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Gingival recession: Stability of root coverage procedures for single gingival recessions

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This review evaluating the long-term (≥2 years) stability of root coverage procedures for single gingival recessions included 15 RCTs. the findings suggest that coronally advanced flap (CAF) may lose stability with time while CAF + connective tissue graft may produce a more stable result. However, the quality of the evidence is low.

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Dual antiplatelet therapy and post-operative bleeding following minor oral surgery

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This review of bleeding complications in patients on dual antiplatelet therapy compared to patients on single antiplatelet or no antiplatelet therapy for patients undergoing oral surgery included 16 studies but no randomised trials. Findings suggest that dual antiplatelet therapy should not be discontinued but the evidence is of low quality.

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Enamel white spot lesions: self-application of topical fluorides for prevention and reversal

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This review of self-applied topical fluorides for the prevention reversal of enamel white spot lesions during fixed orthodontic treatment included 3 RCTs two of which were at high risk of bias.

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Dentine Hypersensitivity: Which agents are most effective?

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This review of treatments used to treat dentine hypersensitivity. 254 different agents were tested with all showing some effectiveness in short term.

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Oral hygiene advice: Use of mobile phone applications in children and adolescents

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There's huge potential for smartphones to be used in this kind of research

This review of the effectiveness of interventions delivered by mobile phones in improving adherence to oral hygiene advice for children and adolescents included just 2 small RCTs involving a total of 130 patients. The findings suggest that mobile phones are effective in improving adherence to oral hygiene advice in orthodontic patients.

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