dentistry

What is the norcebo effect and does it matter for dentistry?

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An interesting article titled “What is the nocebo effect and does it apply to dentistry? A narrative review” written by T. Watanabe and et al. appears in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation (2022). The article discusses the concept of a nocebo which is different than a placebo. A nocebo is where negative expectations lead to the effect of either clinical worsening, suboptimal treatment efficacy, or the occurrence of adverse events. A placebo on the other hand is where postive expectations leads to an effect that causes an improvement in symptoms. In the article the authors sought to explore the norcebo effect in dentistry which they say to date has been given very little attention which only a limited number of articles discussing it. The norcebo effect is real and has been demonstrated in numerous experimental and clinical settings, which hows … Read more

NIH awards grant to study responsible antibiotic use

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio a four-year, $2.4 million grant to work with the American Dental Association Science & Research Institute (ADASRI) to perform a clinical trial study for the responsible use of antibiotics to treat periodontal disease also known as gum disease. The study will allow for the generatation of real-world data on periodontal disease treatments that are supplemented by antibiotics. The study will be lead by principle investigator Georgios Kotsakis, DDS, MS who is an associate professor of periodontics at the UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry. More than 30 clinicians who belong to the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) will collect data for the study. The trial is expected to start in Spring 2023 and the periodontal patients will be treated and … Read more

What to Expect for Your First Dental Filling

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When you go for your first dental filling, whether it’s just one of the first of many, there are a few things to expect. Whether you have a cavity needing a filling or your tooth has been severely worn away by grinding at night, you can trust that the procedure is less traumatic than you’ve been previously led to believe. What Is a Filling, Anyway? The ultimate goal of dentistry is to make your smile as beautiful and long-lasting as possible. To maintain that beauty, your dentist may have to place a dental filling, also known as a “dental restoration,” in your tooth. Dentists can use a variety of dental fillings for the many different kinds of dental cavities. Dental fillings are used in cases where cavities are present in the teeth. A cavity is caused when a sugar-craving bacteria … Read more

Exploring events that should never happen in Dentistry

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Recently a few interesting articles have been published to explore what are called never events or serious patient safety incidents that should not occur if appropriate preventive measures are implemented in dentistry. However, these articles and their analysis are all tailored to the U.K. The first article is titled “Patient safety in dentistry: development of a candidate ‘never event’ list for primary care” written by Black et al. in the British Dental Journal (vol. 222, no. 10, pp. 782-788, Published May 26, 2017). The second article is titled “Developing agreement on never events in primary care dentistry: an international eDelphi study,” written by Ensaldo-Carrasco et al. in the British Dental Journal (vol. 224, no. 9, pp. 733-740, Published May 11, 2018). Prior to these articles there was not much clear research done on never events in dentistry. The best article … Read more

Comparing Injectable Anesthetics for Dentistry

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A review articled carried out by the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews titled “Injectable local anaesthetic agents for dental anaesthesia (Review)” written by St. George et al. in 2018 (no. 7, art. no. CD006487) explored the success of local anesthetics used by dentists. Procedures in dentistry that use local anesthetics include endodontic treatment, placement of restorations, and extraction of teeth. The researchers wanted to determine if one form of anesthetic worked better than others in different scenarios. The researchers defined success for an anesthetic based on the absence of pain during the procedure. They sought out to also explore the speed of onset and duration of anesthesia as well as the systemic and local adverse effects. The researchers had a very thorough search that resulted in 123 studies which was later reduced down to 68 studies and compared 14 different … Read more