General dental practitioners' perceptions of, and attitudes towards, improving patient safety through a multidisciplinary approach to the prevention of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ):A qualitative study in the North East of England

Objective To explore general dental practitioners’ (GDPs’) perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the risks of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) and the current/potential multidisciplinary approach(es) to prevention of the condition. Design Interpretivist methodology using a grounded theory approach and constant comparative analysis to undertake an iterative series of semistructured interviews. Ritchie and Spencer’s framework analysis facilitated the identification and prioritisation of salient themes. Setting Primary care general dental practices in the North East of England. Participants 15 GDPs. Results GDPs are aware of the risk of MRONJ with commonly implicated medicines; however, they report limited collaboration between professional groups in person-centred avoidance of complications, which is a key requirement of the preventive advice recommended in extant literature. Four salient and inter-related themes emerged: (1) perception of knowledge; indicating the awareness of the risk, limited knowledge of implicated medications and experience of managing the condition; (2) risk; indicating the importance of accurate medication histories, the treatment of low risk patients in primary dental care, counselling of poorly informed patients, the fear of litigation and perceived low priority of oral health in the context of general health and well-being; (3) access and isolation; referring to access to general medical records, professional isolation and somewhat limited and challenging professional collaborative relationships; (4) interprofessional working; indicating oral health education of other professional groups, collaboration and communication, and a focus on preventive care. Conclusions Patients continue to be at risk of developing MRONJ due to limited preventive interventions and relatively disparate contexts of multidisciplinary team healthcare. Effective collaboration, education and access to shared medical records could potentially improve patient safety and reduce the potential risk of developing MRONJ

Multidisciplinary prevention of medication related osteonecrosis of the jaw

Background: Medication related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ), is a rare adverse effect of anti-resorptive or anti-angiogenic drug therapy that can cause significant morbidity; commonly prescribed drugs, such as bisphosphonates, used to treat a variety of cancers and osteoporosis have been associated with MRONJ (1). A multidisciplinary approach to the promotion and prioritisation of preventative strategies to ensure patients are dentally fit prior to the prescription of implicated medications is recommended; current evidence suggests that patients have limited knowledge relating to MRONJ and that preventative strategies are rarely implemented (2,3,4). Objective: To explore the impact of MRONJ on quality of life and to explore the attitudes and perceptions of patients towards the multidisciplinary approach to the prevention of the condition. Method: Using a Grounded Theory approach and integrating a process of constant comparison in the iterative enrichment of data sets, semi-structured interviews were undertaken, transcribed and analysed using Ritchie and Spencer’s (2002) Framework Analysis(7). 23 patients; 6 patients with MRONJ, 13 patients prescribed a bisphosphonate and 4 patients with osteoporosis not currently prescribed any medication were recruited from primary care general medical practices and secondary care dental services in England. Salient themes were identified and related back to extant literature in the field. Results: Five salient and inter-related themes emerged: (1) quality of life, indicating the physical, psychological and social impact of MRONJ; (2) limited knowledge, indicating limited awareness of the condition, risk factors and preventative strategies; (3) patient specific, referring to the complexity of patients, polypharmacy, prioritising aspects of care and personal responsibility; (4) inter-professional management, indicating a perceived organisational hierarchy, professional roles and responsibilities, articulation of risk and communication; (5) wider context, indicating potential demands on NHS resources, and barriers to dental care. Conclusions: MRONJ has a significant impact on quality of life yet appropriate preventative education is not apparent. Effective inter-professional patient education and prevention to mitigate against the risk of developing MRONJ is required

'We do not seem to engage with dentists':A qualitative study of primary healthcare staff and patients in the North East of England on the role of pharmacists in oral healthcare

Objective: To explore the attitudes towards, and perceptions of, primary care healthcare staff and patients, regarding the role of clinical pharmacists in the provision of oral health advice and collaboration with dentists in general practice. Design: Interpretivist methodology using qualitative semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Participants 22 participants; 10 pharmacists; 3 general practitioners; 2 nurses; 1 practice manager; 6 patients. Setting Primary care general medical practices in the North East of England and the University of Sunderland Patient Carer and Public Involvement group. Methods: One-to-one semi-structured interviews were performed with primary care healthcare staff. An iterative approach using constant comparative analysis facilitated the ongoing enrichment of data; salient themes were identified using Framework Analysis and related back to extant literature. A focus group was held with patients to further explore key themes. Results: Four salient and inter-related themes emerged: enhanced clinical roles; indicating rapidly changing roles of pharmacists working in general practice, increased responsibility and accountability of pharmacist prescribers and the delivery of advanced clinical services; limited knowledge; indicating basic understanding of appropriate oral health advice, but limited insight and provision of advice to patients with regards to links with systemic diseases and medication; geographical/situational isolation of the dental team; indicating the disparate contexts and challenges of multidisciplinary working in oral health, and patients’ attitudes towards dental care; integration of oral health advice; indicating the potential of pharmacists to integrate oral health advice into current roles and to target specific patient groups in practice. Conclusions: The lack of integration between oral and general healthcare services potentially impacts negatively on patient care, requiring further interprofessional oral health education. The developing role of the pharmacist in general practice represents an opportunity to integrate oral health advice and/or interventions into the management of patients in this setting

A qualitative study exploring strategies to improve the inter-professional management of diabetes and periodontitis

Aims: To explore inter-professional communication and collaboration in guideline-concordant diabetes and periodontitis care. Methods: Qualitative design using iterations of workshops to identify ways to improve multidisciplinary working attended by staff from medical and dental primary care practices, and people with diabetes (n = 43). Workshops were semi-structured around a topic guide. Recruitment was via the UK Clinical Research Network, and a patient and public involvement group in the North of England. Results: Medical practice participants were unaware of the bidirectional evidence linking diabetes and periodontitis and stated that they had never received a referral from a dental professional in this context. The patient participants with diabetes reported never having been informed about the links between diabetes and periodontitis from either their family physician or dentist. Medical and dental practice participants gave negative accounts of inter-professional communication, with claims of inappropriate requests and defensive or non-responses that stymied future interaction. Indirect communication through the patient was suggested as an alternative to direct communication. Conclusions: Indirect referral, whereby the patient is signposted to a healthcare professional, was suggested by medical and dental professionals as a useful alternative to the traditional (and time consuming) letter or telephone call, particularly in the case of suspected diabetes or periodontitis

Uptake of best practice recommendations in the management of patients with diabetes and periodontitis:A cross-sectional survey of healthcare professionals in primary care

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032369BMJ Open1013236

An Unexplored Pharmacologic/Diagnostic Strategy for Peri-Implantitis: A Protocol Proposal

Dental implants are widely utilized for the replacement of missing teeth and are increasingly being placed in patients with systemic diseases, as well as in those who are medically healthy. Furthermore, it is recognized that peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis are highly prevalent, affecting large numbers of patients with implants, and it is pertinent to consider whether there may be any systemic impact of these conditions, given that there are known links between periodontitis and a number of chronic inflammatory diseases. In this article, we propose that the potential systemic complications of peri-implant diseases should be investigated in future clinical research, together with studies to identify whether systemically-administered host modulation therapies (HMTs) may be of benefit in the treatment of peri-implant diseases. These “HMTs” may prove a useful adjunct to routinely employed debridement and disinfection protocols, as well as potentially being of benefit in reducing risks of systemic complications. We also consider the use of chair-side diagnostic tests for active matrix metalloproteinase-8 (aMMP-8) in the detection of peri-implant disease given the ability of such tests to detect active tissue breakdown associated with peri-implantitis and periodontitis before conventional clinical and radiographic measurements indicate pathologic changes. These novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies are relevant to consider as they may improve the management of peri-implant disease (beyond local debridement procedures), especially in those patients in whom systemic inflammation might be of concern

An Unexplored Pharmacologic/Diagnostic Strategy for Peri-Implantitis: A Protocol Proposal

Dental implants are widely utilized for the replacement of missing teeth and are increasingly being placed in patients with systemic diseases, as well as in those who are medically healthy. Furthermore, it is recognized that peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis are highly prevalent, affecting large numbers of patients with implants, and it is pertinent to consider whether there may be any systemic impact of these conditions, given that there are known links between periodontitis and a number of chronic inflammatory diseases. In this article, we propose that the potential systemic complications of peri-implant diseases should be investigated in future clinical research, together with studies to identify whether systemically-administered host modulation therapies (HMTs) may be of benefit in the treatment of peri-implant diseases. These “HMTs” may prove a useful adjunct to routinely employed debridement and disinfection protocols, as well as potentially being of benefit in reducing risks of systemic complications. We also consider the use of chair-side diagnostic tests for active matrix metalloproteinase-8 (aMMP-8) in the detection of peri-implant disease given the ability of such tests to detect active tissue breakdown associated with peri-implantitis and periodontitis before conventional clinical and radiographic measurements indicate pathologic changes. These novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies are relevant to consider as they may improve the management of peri-implant disease (beyond local debridement procedures), especially in those patients in whom systemic inflammation might be of concern

Exploring the use of mouth guards in Muay Thai:a questionnaire survey

10.1038/s41405-020-00048-zBDJ Open612

Microbial biomarkers as a predictor of periodontal treatment response:A systematic review

To evaluate the prognostic accuracy of microbial biomarkers and their associations with the response to active periodontal treatment (APT) and supportive periodontal therapy (SPT). Microbial dysbiosis plays a crucial role in the disease processes of periodontitis. Biomarkers based on microbial composition may offer additional prognostic value, supplementing the limitations of current clinical parameters. While these microbial biomarkers have been clinically evaluated, there is a lack of consensus regarding their prognostic accuracy. A structured search strategy was applied to MEDLINE (PubMed), Cochrane Library, and Embase on 1/11/2022 to identify relevant publications. Prospective clinical studies involving either APT or SPT, with at least 3-month follow-up were included. There were no restrictions on the type of microbial compositional analysis. 1918 unique records were retrieved, and 13 studies (comprising 943 adult patients) were included. Heterogeneity of the studies precluded a meta-analysis, and none of the included studies had performed the sequence analysis of the periodontal microbiome. Seven and six studies reported on response to APT and SPT, respectively. The prognostic accuracy of the microbial biomarkers for APT and SPT was examined in only two and four studies, respectively. Microbial biomarkers had limited predictive accuracy for APT and inconsistent associations for different species across studies. For SPT, elevated abundance of periodontal pathogens at the start of SPT was predictive of subsequent periodontal progression. Similarly, persistent high pathogen loads were consistently associated with progressive periodontitis, defined as an increased pocket probing depth or clinical attachment loss. While there was insufficient evidence to support the clinical use of microbial biomarkers as prognostic tools for active periodontal treatment outcomes, biomarkers that quantify periodontal pathogen loads may offer prognostic value for predicting progressive periodontitis in the subsequent supportive periodontal therapy phase. Additional research will be required to translate information regarding subgingival biofilm composition and phenotype into clinically relevant prognostic tools.</p