Derek Richards

Profile photo of Derek Richards
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.

Website

Follow me here –

Curcumin for management of oral submucous fibrosis

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
Tumeric, curcumin

This review evaluating the evidence on the effectiveness of curcumin in the management of oral submucous fibrosis included 6 small RCTs providing inconclusive evidence of a potential benefit.

[read the full story...]

Nonsurgical root canal therapy: What is the most effective oral premedication to reduce post treatment pain?

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_17046487

This review of the most effective oral premedication in reducing pain in adults after nonsurgical root canal therapy including 16 studies. While a premedication of choice is suggested most outcomes are only supported by very low quality evidence.

[read the full story...]

Irreversible pulpitis: What is the most effective local anaesthetic for inferior alveolar nerve block?

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_17571817- injection

This review of the most effective anaesthetic solutions for inferior alveolar nerve blocks for mandibular teeth with irreversible pulpitis included 11 RCTs. The findings suggest that mepivacaine with epinephrine performed better than lidocaine with epinephrine but the number of trials is limited and the quality of evidence was very low to moderate.

[read the full story...]

Dental Implants: Number of implants and full-arch prosthesis survival

2 Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_67927216

19 studies (6 RCTs, 13 prospective studies) were included in this review assessing whether the number of dental implants per jaw has an influence on implant and/or prosthesis survival rate and complications with the findings suggesting no influence.

[read the full story...]

Fluoride for white spot lesion prevention during orthodontic treatment

1 Response »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
iStock_000002259334XSmall braces on teeth

This review of professional topical fluoride application to prevent/reverse enamel white spot lesions during orthdontic treatment included 11 RCTs suggesting a reduction of in incidence of between 25–30% .

[read the full story...]

Oral Cancer: Elective or therapeutic neck dissection?

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_71153206

This review of neck dissection (END) in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral cavity and clinically N0 neck included 6 studies suggesting fewer recurrences with END, but the evidence of very low quality.

[read the full story...]

Chlorhexidine mouthwash after periodontal or implant surgery

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_20760106 - mouthwash

This review of the benefits of chlorhexidine rinsing after periodontal or implant surgery included 11 small RCTs which provide very low quality evidence of a benefit.

[read the full story...]

Peri-implantitis: Is periodontal disease a risk factor?

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_112057412

This review to assess whether dental implants placed in patients with periodontitis have a higher risk of peri-implantitis included 19 mainly cross-sectional studies providing very low quality evidence to suggest a link.

[read the full story...]

Ameloblastoma: Radical or conservative surgery?

No Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
CT_Scan_of_ameloblastoma

20 retrospective studies were included in this review of surgical approaches for ameloblastoma . The finding suggest fewer recurrences with radical approaches.

[read the full story...]

Ameloblastoma: how common is it?

1 Response »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
Ameloblastoma_-_high_mag

This review of the global incidence of ameloblastoma included 49 studies with just 7 studies contributing to the pooled incidence rate estimate of 0.92 per million person‐years.

[read the full story...]