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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Coronal microleakage prevention after root canal treatment

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This review of the efficiency of orifice barriers in preventing coronal microleakage after root canal treatment included 18 in-vitro studies. The findings suggest the placement of an orifice barrier helped prevent coronal leakage. However the relevance of this to the clinical environment remains to be examined.

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Summer Break

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  The Dental Elves are taking a short break and will be back on the 7th August

Solid/multicystic ameloblastoma – radical and conservative surgical approaches

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This review evaluating the efficacy of various radical and conservative surgical approaches in reducing recurrence rate for the treatment of solid/multicystic ameloblastoma included 7 retrospective cohort studies.The findings suggest that segmental resection was the best approach but the certainty of the evidence is low.

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Temporomandibular disorders and oral health-related quality of life

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This review of assess the impact of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) on oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) included 8 cross-sectional studies. While the findings suggest poorer OHRQoL in patients with TMD the limited number of studies and theer cross-sectional nature needs to be taken into consideration.

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Implant diameter and survival rates

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This review comparing implant and prosthetic survival with narrrow and regular dental implant diameters included 7 studies.The findings suggest no differences between the two types of implant but 5 of the 7 studies are retrospective and only 4 have a follow-up period of 5 years of more.

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Composite resin restorations – incremental or bulk fill?

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This review of the clinical effectiveness of bulk-fill versus incrementally layered conventional resin composites included 18 RCTs. Owing to the variety of composite materials and bonding systems used a narrative summary was presented with the findins suggesting no important differences between incremental and bulk-fill techniques.

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Orthodontic space closure after tooth extraction- early or delayed?

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This review of early versus delayed initiation of space closure after tooth extraction on the rate of orthodontic tooth movement included 11 RCTs. The findings suggest little difference between the two approaches but the included studies are small and none of the theam are at low risk of bias.

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Extraction vs non-extraction of premolars for orthodontic treatment

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This scoping review of the literature comparing orthodontic treatment undertaken with and without the extraction of premolar teeth included 399 articles. Most study reports were of low methodological quality, and further reviews are unlikely to provide new information. Researchers should focus on high quality prospective primary studies that include outcomes of imortance to patients.

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Restorative treatments for caries lesions – ADA guideline

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In this blog we take a look at the latest clinical practice guideline from the American Dental Association on restorative treatments for primary and permanent teeth with moderate and advanced caries.

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Root canal treatment outcomes and pulpal status

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This review comparing the effectiveness of root canal treatment outcomes in teeth with a vital pulp versus a necrotic pulp included 28 studies. No differences between vital and necrotic pulps were seen for tooth survival. No studies reported on tooth function, adverse effects or oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL).

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