Advice and guidance clinics using remote specialist advice to support primary dental care practitioners.

Advice and guidance clinics allow one clinician to seek advice from another using the concept of telemedicine for the provision of real time care, including diagnosis, treatment planning and consulting. While advice and guidance (AAG) is more commonly used in medicine, the service is currently underutilised in dentistry. There is limited evidence regarding the patient outcomes of AAG services and the benefits and drawbacks of this service in dentistry.

The role of primary dental care practitioners in the long-term management of patients treated for head and neck cancer.

Patients treated for head and neck cancer may be susceptible to a higher incidence of dental disease due to long-term sequelae of treatment for head and neck cancer. Most patients with head and neck cancer are discharged from a hospital environment and responsibility for long-term dental care is transferred back from the restorative dentistry team to the dentist and dental care professionals in primary care. Treatment of these patients should be undertaken in a supportive environment, taking into account the physical and psychological repercussions of previous treatment.

Quality of life and other psychological factors in patients with tooth wear.

Aim To investigate the relationship between generic and condition-specific (CS) quality of life, general psychological wellbeing and personality in patients with tooth wear.Materials and methods Ethical approval was granted (REC:10/H0709/21). Patients aged 18-70 years with tooth wear completed the Oral Impact on Daily Performance (OIDP) quality of life questionnaire, the NEO-FFI Personality questionnaire and the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ).

Crown Lengthening surgery: An overview.

The term 'crown lengthening surgery' refers to a variety of techniques which aim to expose a greater amount of tooth structure around a tooth or group of teeth. The decision to treat and which technique to use will depend upon: the underlying aetiology; a thorough history and examination; results of any supporting investigations and a clear understanding of the intended outcome of treatment. This paper aims to provide an overview of crown lengthening surgery and is illustrated with clinical cases.

The Emergency Dental Appointment: Restorative Emergencies Part 2 - Dental Implant Related Problems.

This is the second paper in a two-part series discussing the management of common restorative dental emergencies. The first paper focussed upon problems relating to conventional fixed and removable restorations, and this paper discusses the management of common dental implant related emergencies. With dental implant treatment becoming an increasingly popular method of replacing missing teeth, it is very likely that dentists working in general practice will routinely come across patients who have previously undergone this form of treatment, even if they themselves are not directly involved in placing or restoring dental implants.

The Emergency Dental Appointment: Restorative Emergencies Part 1 - Tooth Related Problems.

Dental emergencies affect a large proportion of the population. While there is ample information in the literature on how to manage medical emergencies in dental practice, there is little information on common dental emergencies and how to manage them. In the UK, the 2009 Adult Dental Health Survey reported 9% of dentate adults reporting pain at their clinical examination.

An Update on Crown Lengthening. Part 2: Increasing Clinical Crown Height to Facilitate Predictable Restorations.

This is the second paper in this two-part series. Paper one provided an overview of managing gingival tissue excess and paper two will focus on increasing clinical crown height to facilitate restorative treatment. Crown lengthening is a surgical procedure aimed at the removal of gingival tissue with or without adjunctive bone removal.

An update on crown lengthening. Part 1: Gingival tissue excess.

This is the first article in a two-part series which aims to provide an overview of the different techniques used to increase clinical crown height. In the first paper, the focus will be on the management of patients who present with gingival tissue excess. The different aetiologies are discussed and illustrated with clinical cases, following which a range of procedures that may be employed in the management of these patients are presented.

Rare case of bizarre parosteal osteochondromatous proliferation presenting in the zygoma.

Bizarre parosteal osteochondromatous proliferation is a rare benign lesion that tends to occur within the bones of the hands and feet. To our knowledge this is the third published case of its occurrence in the head region. We report the case of a 31-year-old man with an eight-month history of an asymptomatic, slowly enlarging lump on the right zygomatic area diagnosed as bizarre parosteal osteochondromatous proliferation.

What is the role of senior house officer or dental foundation year two posts in professional careers? Exploring the motivations for, and perceived benefits of, undertaking SHO posts in two London hospitals.

Aims: To investigate the motivations for, and perceived benefits of, undertaking senior house officer (SHO) posts, and to explore the career pathways of those who do, examining trends in successive cohorts.

Method: Postal cross-sectional questionnaire survey of all dental and maxillofacial SHOs (DF2s) who had worked for two South London hospitals within the previous nine years (n=137). Respondents were grouped into three cohorts to enable responses to be examined in relation to respondents' entry to their first SHO post.

An audit to assess the quality and efficiency of complete and partial dentures delivered by junior hospital staff.

The average number of visits for the construction of metal-based and acrylic dentures by junior hospital staff was 10 visits. Our hypothesis was that supervision would optimise the number of visits and reduce any need for remakes. The first audit cycle was retrospective and included all patients treated by SHOs in the Prosthodontics Department.