What's new for the clinician? - Excerpts from and summaries of recently published papers

The effects of a hydrogen peroxide mouthrinse on the intraoral viral load of SARS-CoV-2 - The effect of adjuvant oral irrigation on self-administered oral care in the management of peri-implant mucositi

What's new for the clinician? - Excerpts from and summaries of recently published papers

1. Is there an association between stress and periodontitis? JM Coelho, SS Miranda, SS da Cruz, et al. Is there association between stress and periodontitis? Clinical Oral Investigations. 2020; 24: 2285-94. 2. Is there an association between periodontitis and all-cause and cancer mortality? P Chung, T Chan. Association between periodontitis and all-cause and cancer mortality: retrospective elderly community cohort study. BMC Oral Health. 2020; 20: 168

What’s new for the clinician – summaries of recently published papers (September 2021)

It is estimated that 621 million children throughout the world have untreated caries on primary teeth. 1 Early childhood caries (ECC), which affects preschool children, progresses rapidly and is associated with pain, difficulty chewing, weight loss, difficulty sleeping, altered behaviour, and a poorer quality of life for affected children and theirfamilies. Children with dental caries have greater treatmentneed, which is expensive and not readily accessible in most developing countries. In South Africa, ECC is a major public health problem with caries rates among children as high as 70% in some provinces

What’s new for the clinician? Excerpts from and summaries of recently published papers

Pulpectomy is a conservative treatment approach for preventing the premature loss of primary teeth that can result in loss of arch length, insufficient space for erupting permanent teeth, impaction of premolars, and mesial tipping of molar teeth adjacent to the lost primary molar. Pulpectomy is a procedure which involves removal of the roof of pulp chamber in order to gain access to the root canals which are debrided, shaped, disinfected, and obturated later with a resorbable material. As a result, the tooth can be maintained in the arch without vital pulp tissue, without compromising the function of the tooth. The most common complications associated with pulpectomy, post-operative pain (PP) and/or swelling, commence after treatment. These are always unpleasant experiences for both patients and clinicians. The apical extrusion of infected debris or irrigation solution during the canal preparation or irrigation procedure may worsen the inflammatory response and cause periradicular inflammation and postoperative pain. It is well-documented that the type of irrigation method affects the amount of apically extruded debris (AED) in permanent teeth. No study has evaluated the effect of different needle types on the intensity and duration of PP after pulpectomy in primary molars. Topçuoglu and colleagues reported on a trial that sought to compare the intensity and duration of postoperative pain after pulpectomy using open-ended needles (OEN) versus sidevented needles (SVNs) in primary upper molars

What’s new for the clinician– summaries of recently published papers

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is the most common chronic disease in the Western world and developing countries have also shown an explosion in the incidence and prevalence of this disease. Exercise therapy is essential for the management of diabetes. The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Diabetes Association have recommended at least 150 min/week of moderate (50%-70% of an individual’s maximum heart rate) to vigorous (> 70% of an individual’s maximum heart rate) physical activity for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Studies including lifestyle and health interventions have shown that they have a positive health effect on patients with T2DM. For example, physical activity has been shown to improve the metabolic condition of T2DM patients, reduce HbA1c levels and cardiovascular mortality, and improve the quality of life, lipid levels, and blood pressure. Diabetes has been identified as an important risk factor for periodontitis. The risk of developing periodontitis and peri-implantitis is significantly increased in patients with diabetes compared to healthy control groups. Wernicke and colleagues (2021)1 reported on a trial that sought to test the hypothesis that physical activity is a health-promoting measure with significant positive effects on periodontal health and HbA1c concentrations

What's new for the clinician? - Excerpts from and summaries of recently published papers

0.5% versus 3% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) in root canal treatment: A quasi-randomized controlled trial/ C Ulin, M Magunacelaya-Barria, G Dahlén, T Kvist. Immediate clinical and microbiological evaluation of the effectiveness of 0.5% versus 3% sodium hypochlorite in root canal treatment: A quasi-randomized controlled trial. International Endodontic Journal 2020; 53(5): 591-603. The effect of an intraorifice barrier and base under coronal restorations on the healing of apical periodontitis: A randomized controlled trial G Kumar, S Tewari, P Sangwan, J Duhan, S Mittal. The effect of an intraorifice barrier and base under coronal restorations on the healing of apical periodontitis: A randomized controlled trial. International Endodontic Journal 2020; 53 (4): 298-307

What’s new for the clinician? - Excerpts from and summaries of recently published papers

Surgical removal of impacted 3rd molars is a common surgical procedure carried out by both general and specialist oral health professionals. This procedure is often associated with postoperative pain, swelling and bleeding which affects the patients eating and speaking and oral health related quality of life. Very little published studies have investigated the effect of postoperative follow-up on the quality of life of affected patients. Traditional postoperative follow-up via telephone has proven to be effective and it has effects such as reducing the cost of consultation compared with conventional on-site follow-up. However, in clinical practice, telephone follow-up was found to greatly increase the time consumption of doctors and nurses, as they have to repeat the same instructions or guidelines, and patients often reject the calls, as they think that these unknown incoming calls are harassing calls. The increase in online medical care facilitates patients’ access to medical services and also enables doctors to manage their cases more efficiently and follow up with their registered patients quickly and accurately to obtain important clinical data. Zheng and colleagues form China (2021) used the Good Doctor Online mobile app to follow up registered patients after tooth extraction. The primary aim of their study was to evaluate the effectiveness of postoperative online follow-up on patients’ quality of life following impacted mandibular third molar removal. A further objective was to investigate the application value of online medical care in the field of oral therapy

What’s new for the clinician? - Excerpts from and summaries of recently published papers

Choosing an endodontic sealer clinical use is a decision that contributes to the long-term success of non-surgical root canal treatment. Sealers are used as a thin tacky paste which function as a lubricant and luting agent during obturation, allowing the core obturation material, such as gutta-percha points or other rigid materials, to slide in and become fixed in the canal. Sealers can fill voids, lateral canals, and accessory canals where core obturation materials cannot infiltrate. If the sealer does not perform its function, microleakage may cause root canal failure via clinically undetectable passage of bacteria, fluids, molecules or ions between the tooth and restorative material. It has been reported that extrusion of the sealer during root canal filling has cytotoxic effects on periapical tissues, causing periapical inflammation, necrosis and pain. Endodontic sealers are categorized by composition based on setting reaction and composition: zinc oxide eugenol, salicylate, fatty acid, glass ionomer, silicone, epoxy resin, tricalcium silicate, and methacrylate resin sealer systems. Aslan & Özkan (2021) reported on a trial that sought to evaluate the effect of two calcium silicate-based root canal sealers, Endoseal MTA and EndoSequence BC Sealer, on postoperative pain following single-visit root canal treatment on molar teeth compared to their epoxy/ amine resin-based counterpart AH Plus. The null hypotheses tested in this study were as follows:1. The type of sealer used would not change the incidence and the intensity of post-treatment endodontic pain2. The analgesic intake of patients following single-visit root canal treatmen

What’s new for the clinician– summaries of recently published papers

From a scientific perspective, the benefits of vaccination have long been demonstrated with rigorous empirical research1. To the individual being vaccinated, vaccines provide almost invaluable protection against serious infections, but high coverage levels can also create an additional benefit emerging at the population level. This public good of ‘herd immunity’, i.e. heavily reduced transmission of a pathogen in the population because of low numbers of susceptible hosts in the population, is an important layer of protection for those individuals who cannot receive vaccination themselves, those with a dysfunctional immune system, and those whose protection has waned.1 It is mainly for the latter reason that many ethicists believe that vaccination is not merely a matter of personal choice but that it can also be a social obligation

What’s new for the clinician? - Excerpts from and summaries of recently published papers

0.5% versus 3% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) in root canal treatment: A quasi-randomized controlled trial/ C Ulin, M Magunacelaya-Barria, G Dahlén, T Kvist. Immediate clinical and microbiological evaluation of the effectiveness of 0.5% versus 3% sodium hypochlorite in root canal treatment: A quasi-randomized controlled trial. International Endodontic Journal 2020; 53(5): 591-603. The effect of an intraorifice barrier and base under coronal restorations on the healing of apical periodontitis: A randomized controlled trial G Kumar, S Tewari, P Sangwan, J Duhan, S Mittal. The effect of an intraorifice barrier and base under coronal restorations on the healing of apical periodontitis: A randomized controlled trial. International Endodontic Journal 2020; 53 (4): 298-307