Intellectual disability and oral health

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This review of on the oral health of community dwelling adults with intellectual disabilities included 33 mainly cross-sectional studies showing a the continuing high prevalence of oral disease and treatment need

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Dental fear and anxiety: Is it related to negative oral health beliefs?

Media coverage of the paper by Davies and Read was emotive and damning in terms of the dangers of antidepressant medication.

This review of the evidence on the relationship of oral health beliefs with dental fear and anxiety included 10 studies and suggests that patients with negative health beliefs are more likely to suffer with dental fear and anxiety.

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Distraction techniques for managing dental anxiety in children and adolescents

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This review assessing whether distraction techniques reduce children’s/adolescent’s anxiety and fear during dental treatment included 20 RCTs providing very low certainty evidence that these techniques have a positive effect.

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Oral hygiene programmes for people with intellectual disabilities

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This Cochrane review of oral hygiene interventions for people with intellectual difficulties included 34 studies (19 RCTs, 15 non-randomised studies) find some interventions provided benefits but their clinical importance was unclear.

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Oral mucosal disorders during pregnancy – How common are they?

Pregnant women taking antidepressants should be made of the benefits and risks of this treatment

This review of the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions during pregnancy included 15 observational studies from 9 countries. Gingival hyperplasia was most commonly report however the quality of the available evidence was assessed as very low.

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Mobile apps- can then improve dental health?

This RCT looked at whether Mentalization Based Treatment for Adolescents reduced self-harming beahviour

This review of the effectiveness of mobile applications and text messages on oral health included 15 RCTs providing very low quality evidence of reduction is plaque and gingival bleeding.

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Baking soda toothpaste for control of plaque and gingivitis?

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This review of the effect of baking soda toothpastes on plaque and gingivitis included 21 studies providing 43 comparisons that suggest some benefit with respect to plaque removal.

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Dental general anaesthesia in children: Impacts on the family

This review suggests that children in kinship foster care may do better than those in traditional foster care, in terms of their behavioural development, mental health functioning, and placement stability

21 quality of life studies were included in this review of the family impacts following children’s dental treatment under general anaesthesia. The findings suggest a significant positive impact on parental emotions, activity, and conflict.

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Routine scale and polish for periodontal health

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Two UK primary care-based trials were included in this Cochrane review update of routine scale and polish. They provide high certainty evidence of litte or no difference between 6- & 12-monthly scale and polish for adult regular attenders without severe periodontitis.

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