mHealth promotion for parents to improve children’s oral health

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This review of the effectiveness of the mHealth-delivered oral health education to parents parents regarding the improvement of parents’ knowledge, behaviours and children’s oral health status included 12 studies. The studies findings were variable with some demonstrating benefit and some no benefit with all 8 of the included RCTs being at high risk of bias.

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School dental screening for oral health

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This Cochrane review update assessing the effectiveness of school dental screening programmes on overall oral health status and use of dental services included 8 RCTs. There was not enough evidence to draw conclusions about whether traditional school dental screening can improve childrens dental attendance or lead to better oral health.

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Nicotine replacement therapy – oral side effects

For inpatients with psychiatric symptoms of moderate severity, the study suggests those using nicotine inhalers were most successful overall in their quit attempts. There were no severe adverse reactions to the NRTs.

This review of the evidence on possible association between locally delivered nicotine replacement therapy(NRT) and oral side effects included 28 RCTs. Most of the RCTs were at high risk of bias mainly because of allocation concealment concerns. Reported oral side effects including oral soreness, gastric reflux or vomiting, and mouth or throat irritation.

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Caries in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

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This review of whether children and adolescents with attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had more dental caries than children and adolescents without ADHD included 13 observational studies. The findings suggest a higher risk of caries in children with ADHD Odds ratio = 3.31(95%CI; 1.25 to 8.73) and a significantly higher DMFT index Mean difference = 0.75 (0.38 to 1.13). However because of heterogeneity in the included study designs and a lack of adjustments for confounding factors the findings should be interpreted cautiously.

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Oral piercing and oral complications

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This review examining the association between oral manifestations and the use of oral piercings included 54 studies. Damage to periodontal health and tooth structure were the most commonly reported complications however the quality of the evidence is of very low certainty.

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Power toothbrushes – Sonic or oscillating-rotating?

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This review of the efficacy of oscillating-rotating power toothbrush compared to high-frequency sonic power toothbrush includes 32 RCTs. The findings show moderate certainty evidence in favour of the oscillating-rotating however the clinical relevance may not be important.

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How to improve oral health in people with severe mental illness #MindYourSmile

Start tweeting your ideas to #MindYourSmile now!

Easter Joury summarises a recent systematic review on improving oral health in people with severe mental illness.

We are having a tweet chat at 8-9pm BST on Monday 11th July to discuss how best to support oral health in people with severe mental illness. You can join in by following the #MindYourSmile hashtag on Twitter.

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Psychological techniques for children with autism spectrum disorder

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This review of the effectiveness of behaviour management and modification strategies for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to overcome the anxiety and discomfort associated with receiving dental care includes 15 studies. The findings are inconclusive as the included studies had small sample sizes, several lacked control groups and the majority of studies were at high risk of bias.

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Social isolation and oral health

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In this blog Carly Ross takes a look at a review assessing the association between social isolation and oral health in adults. The findings suggested no strong association however, only 4 studies were included and these were of limited quality.

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