Alveolar ridge- soft tissue preservation techniques

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In hwer first blog for the Dental Elf Aljeeta Kadam looks at a review aiming to evaluate and compare different alveolar ridge preservation techniques.

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Autogenous dentine graft for implant placement

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This review comparing autogenous dentine graft (ADG) to other bone graft materials for implant placement included 9 studies five of whihc were RCTs. The findings suggest that ADG has similar outcomes to other bone graft material howevr the limited number and quality of the availabel studies means tha findings should be interpreted cautiously.

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Listening to music to reduce the pain and anxiety of third molar surgery

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This review assess of listening to music to reduce preoperative anxiety and pain during third molar extractions included 5 RCTs. The findings suggest reducction in preoperative anxiety but the quality and number of studies is limited.

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Alveolar osteitis and oral contraceptive use

Anti-epileptic drugs can influence the effectiveness of contraceptive drugs

This review assessing the risk of alveolar osteitis (AO) in in oral contraceptive users included 17 mainly observational studies. The findings showed an increased risk of developing AO in female oral contraceptive (OCP) users, RR = 1.98 (95%CI:1.42 to 2.76) compared to female non-OCP users

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Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ): Prevention and treatment

osteonecrosis

This Cochrane review update of interventions for the prevention or treatment of medication-relatesd osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) included 13 RCTs. However the studies provided insufficient to either claim or refute a benefit of the interventions tested for prophylaxis or treatment of MRONJ.

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Tooth extraction prior to head and neck radiotherapy and osteoradionecrosis risk

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28 mainly retrospective studies were included in this review which aimed to determine if tooth extraction prior to head and neck radiotherapy (RT )is associated with a reduced risk of developing osteoradionectosis (ORN). The findings showed a significant association of post-RT dental extractions with the risk of ORN development, odds ratio = 1.98 (95%CI: 1.17 to 3.35. However the certainty of the evidence was low to moderate.

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Third molar surgery and antibiotics to prevent infection

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This review and infection of dry socket after third molar surgery identified 58 RCTs of whihc 34 contributed to a meta-analyses. The findings indicated that metronidazle and amoxicillin did reduce infection but the findings were of low certainty.

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Intraosseous injection or inferior alveolar nerve block for third molar surgery?

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This review comparing the anaesthetic efficacy of intraosseous injection(IO) and conventional inferior alveolar nerve block (INAB) in mandibular third molar surgery included 4 small RCTs. The findings suggest no significant difference between IO and INAB techniques.

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Ibuprofen prior to lower third molar removal

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This review of the effect of pre-emptive ibuprofen on post-operative pain after lower third molar surgery included 5 RCTs. Only one of the included studies was at low risk of bias so there is insufficient evidence to support the routine use of pre-emptive ibuprofen to reduce post-operative pain after lower third molar removal

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Cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive in postoperative palatal pain management

Gingival graft

This review assessing the effect of cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive (CTA) in the management of palatal wound healing and post-operative pain after epithelialised gingival graft harvesting included just 4 small RCTs. While the findings suggest a potential benefit with CTA both the quantity and quality of the available evidence is very limited.

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