Lithium is a medicine that has been used for over 50 years to treat depression and bipolar disorder. It comes in two forms that are used clinically: lithium carbonate and lithium citrate. A certain level of the drug is needed in the blood stream for it to be effective, but if the level rises too [read the full story…]
About 1 in 1000 susceptible patients suffers from aggressive periodontitis. Sufferers have more rapid gingival attachment loss with some losing more that half their bony support by 35. This can be localised to a small number of teeth or more generalised. The aim of this study was to evaluate the adjunctive clinical and microbiological effects [read the full story…]
Chronic periodontitis affects between 5-20% of the population. Scaling and root planing (SRP) is one of the most effective methods of treatment. The aim of this review was to assess whether the adjunct of amoxicillin and metronidazole (AMX/MET) to SRP increased its effectiveness compared to SRP alone. The authors searched eight databases and hand-searched a [read the full story…]
Shared decision-making is all the rage right now, so it’s great to see this new report written by Professor Alan Cribb from the Centre for Public Policy Research at King’s College London. There has been broad acceptance for many years that patient-centred care and shared decision-making between patients and healthcare professionals is a good idea, [read the full story…]
Many studies have looked at the difficulties associated with medication management in people with learning disabilities. This study set out to looked at an approach to medication management and treatment in an outpatient psychiatry clinic for 198 community-residing children and adults with learning disability who were referred to the clinic and subsequently discharged over an [read the full story…]
Most people suffer with inflamed gums for time to time. However, approximately 10% of the population suffer from more severe gum problems (periodontitis) leading to loss of bone supporting the teeth and potentially loss of teeth. The aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness of combined amoxicillin and metronidazole (AMX/MET) as an adjunctive [read the full story…]
The aim of this review was to assess whether patients undergoing dental implants who receive peri-operative antibiotics have lower failure rather than those not who do not receive antibiotics. The authors searched medline for studies in English with test and control groups . Antibiotic use was classified as a single preoperative dose, a single preoperative [read the full story…]
NICE Guideline 64 does not recommend the routine use of antibiotic prophylaxis in invasive dental procedures to prevent infective carditis. Their guideline states that patients should only be offered it if the procedure is at a site where there is already a suspected infection. This guidance caused some difficulties for dentists, as reported in the [read the full story…]
People with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are over three times more likely to lose their teeth because of poor oral health than the general population. The research, published in the September issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, shows that psychiatric patients have not shared in recent improvements in dental health. [read the full story…]
Researchers from Oxford and Verona have published a major new meta-analysis in the Lancet, which measures the effectiveness of all anti-manic drugs. The review team searched and found 68 randomised controlled trials from 1980-2010 (a total of 16,073 patients). The study includes a range of antipsychotics and mood stabilisers used at a therapeutic dose range [read the full story…]
