Interdental cleaning devices with active substances

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This review of the efficacy of interdental cleaning devices (ICDs) used with active substances, as adjuncts to toothbrushing included 7 RCTs. However, none of the available studies was at low risk of bias and all were small. While the findings suggest s benefit from using ICDs with active substances the evidence is of very low certainty so additional high qiality well reported trials are needed.

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Flossing: Before or after brushing?

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This review comparing the clinical performance of flossing before or after toothbrushing included two small RCTs involving a total of 60 patients. The findings suggest no difference with the use of floss before or after toothbrushing however the quality of the evidence is limited.

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Plaque disclosing methods: Do they lead to improvements in oral health?

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This review of whether plaque-disclosing (PD) methods, applied by dental professionals or at-home with verbal oral hygiene instruction (OHI)improved plaque control compared with OHI alone included 7 RCTs involving 430 patients.

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Powered toothbrushes and plaque control in orthodontic patients

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Typically, fixed appliance orthodontic treatment can last 18-24 months. As the presence of orthodontic appliance encourages plaque accumulation the maintenance of good oral hygiene is important is prevent adverse oral health outcomes.  The small head sizes of powered toothbrushes are considered to assist effective oral hygiene and have been sown to benefit oral health. The [read the full story…]

Toothbrushing in intensive care: Does it reduce the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia?

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This review of whether toothbrushing-based oral health measures, performed in intensive care units, can reduce the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) included 12 RCTs with the findings suggesting a positive effect.

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Orthodontic bonding: Direct or indirect?

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This review of direct and indirect bonding techniques for orthodontic backet placement included 8 small RCTs of limited quality suggesting no significant difference in bracket placement accuracy, oral hygiene status and bond failure rate.

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Chlorhexidine mouthwash after periodontal or implant surgery

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This review of the benefits of chlorhexidine rinsing after periodontal or implant surgery included 11 small RCTs which provide very low quality evidence of a benefit.

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Toothbrushing: fluoride toothpaste needed to reduce caries

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Three RCTs were included in this review of the association between personal oral hygiene and coronal dental caries. The findings suggest that in the absence of fluorides personal oral hygiene did not reduce the incidence of caries.

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Children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities: oral health status

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This review of oral health status in people with intellectual disabilities included 39 studies. Higher level of dental plaque, worse gingival status, and fewer decayed and filled permanent teeth were seen than in patients without intellectual disabilities.

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Toothbrushing: Are three heads better than one?

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This review of the effectiveness of 3-headed toothbrushes included 15 studies describing 18 comparisons. The quality of the available evidence was low an no differences were seen with self-performed brushing but a benefit was suggested for plaque removal for care-dependent individuals.

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