Critical summaries from the American Dental Association-Center for Evidence-based Dentistry-Jan 2013

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A number of new critical summaries have been made available on the ADE-EBD website of the past few weeks. The first is an appraisal of a 2010 review by Martínez-Maestre et al. that looked at the association between dental bone loss and systemic osteoporosis.  The reviewer highlighted that this was a weak review of observational [read the full story…]

Weak evidence suggests small additional benefit from the use of local antimicrobials as adjunct to scaling and root planning for chronic periodontitis patients

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Scaling and root planning (SRP) is the main therapeutic approach to treating periodontitis. The adjunctive use of local antimicrobials has demonstrated some improvement in outcomes.  The aim of this review was to assess the effect on clinical outcomes of local antimicrobials as adjuncts to SRP, compared to SRP alone or plus placebo, in chronic periodontitis [read the full story…]

Trail shows improved outcomes with metronidazole alone or with amoxicillin as adjuncts to non-surgical treatment of chronic periodontitis

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The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the adjunctive use of metronidazole (MTZ) or MTZ + amoxicillin (AMX) in the treatment of generalized chronic periodontitis (ChP). Participants with untreated generalized ChP were randomised to receive either scaling and root planning (SRP) only (n= 40); SRP with MTZ, 400 mg/3 times [read the full story…]

What is the role of occlusal adjustment in periodontal treatment?

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The relationship between trauma from occlusion and periodontal disease has long been a area of discussion. Occlusal adjustment has been conducted routinely by some as part of procedures to control periodontal disease.  The aim of this review was to assess whether  there any evidence that occlusal adjustment as part of periodontal therapy provides additional benefit [read the full story…]

Professional oral hygiene interventions and follow-up support provided short term improvement in oral health for in older adults

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An increasingly elderly population  have benefited from improvements in oral health care resulting in the retention of an increasing number of natural teeth. This brings the challenge of maintaining these  teeth and their replacements in good disease free condition.  However, studies indicate that oral health in this group is often poor.  The aim of this [read the full story…]

Motivational interview as a prelude to periodontal treatment had limited impact on oral health

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There is much interest in the use of the motivational interview, a directive patient centered style of counselling in dentistry to promote behaviour change.  This trial looked at a single session of motivational interviewing (MI) on self-performed periodontal infection control. Patients with chronic periodontitis referred to a specialist clinic in Gothenburg, Sweden. Patients randomised to [read the full story…]

Review suggests good reductions in plaque levels and gingivitis with chlorhexidine mouthwash in addition to oral hygiene measures

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Chlorhexidine (CHX) has been used as a mouthwash for many years. The aim of this review was to assess, the effectiveness of Chlorhexidine (CHX) mouthrinse against plaque growth, gingival inflammation as well as the degree of staining. Three databases were searched Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Central), reference lists of [read the full story…]

New Cochrane Protocols for September 2012

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There are three new Cochrane review protocols on the September  issue of the Cochrane Library. Chi CC, Wang SH, Peters MC, Kanjirath PP, Delamere FM, Wojnarowska F. Interventions for prevention of herpes simplex labialis (cold sores on the lips). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012, Issue 9. Art. No.: CD010095. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD010095. The main aim [read the full story…]

Weak evidence finds no support for ‘Ante’s Law’

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This critical summary of a review published by Lulic et al in 2007  has just been published under the auspicies of the American Dental Association Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry. For 80 years Ante’ law has influenced standard textbooks of prosthodontics.  It stated:- the total periodontal membrane area of the abutment teeth must equal or exceed [read the full story…]

Weak evidence shows small effect of sugar-free chewing gum on plaque

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Chewing gum is a activity enjoyed my consumers (particularly teenagers) around the world and is a now multi-billion dollar industry. Historically gums were flavoured with sugar but increasingly sugar substitutes are used, the most common of these being the polyols, sorbitol and xylitol. Chewing stimulates salivary flow and using gum has been recommended when it [read the full story…]