Lisa Marzano and Andrea Cipriani explore a new systematic review and meta-analysis about the associations between problematic Facebook use, psychological distress and well-being among adolescents and young adults.
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38 trials were included in this updated Cochrane review of the effect of fissure sealants on occlusal caries. The data show a reduction in caries of between 11-51% at 24months compared to no sealant. The benefit was also maintained at longer-term follow up.
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While 24 studies were included in this review of the impact of orthodontic retainers on periodontal health there was a lack of high quality evidence to support any particular retainer on this or a range of other parameters. More well-designed and long terms studies are required.
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Joanne Wallace considers a recent health technology assessment on the risks and benefits of psychotropic medication in pregnancy, which supports previous associations between valproate and adverse child outcomes.
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65 case reports and 1 case series were included in this reviews of the ophthalmic side effects from dental local anaesthesia. 92 % were transitory the remainder permanent. 25% of the transitory side effects took up to 6 hours to resolve.
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This overview of adverse event rates associated with single dose oral analgesics includes data from 39 Cochrane reviews, and provides evidence that adverse events rates are generally similar with active drug and placebo.
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This review compared tooth whitening strips against 10% carbamide peroxide gel. Only 9 low quality studies were available and while meta-analysis found no difference between the interventions, the authors did not consider that strips were a substitute for gel.
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This review included 17 studies the majority (12) of which were in vitro; and all at risk of bias to greater or lesser extent. The results suggest that glycine powder air polishing had less potential for harm of oral hard and soft tissues than sodium bicarbonate powders.
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Interproximal dental stripping or interproximal enamel reduction (IER) was originally suggested back in the 1940s as a method of gaining space in the lower incisor region. The aim of this review was to investigate the enamel roughness resulting from IER as well as the cariogenicity of IER in orthodontic patients. The databases, PubMed, Scopus, The [read the full story…]
Antipsychotic medication is the standard treatment for schizophrenia and psychosis in the UK. Given that psychosis is commonly a chronic condition and therefore that medication used to treat it often needs to be taken for several years, getting the medication “right” is important. As I mentioned in my first blog post for the Mental Elf, [read the full story…]
