Tea, coffee and oral cancer risk.

Data Sources: Pooled individual-level data from nine case-control studies of head and neck cancers, including 5,139 cases and 9,028 controls.

Study Selection: Nine case-control studies were selected from the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology (INHANCE) consortium pool of 33 studies, which included information on coffee (caffeinated and decaffeinated) and tea drinking and cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx. Seven studies also included information on laryngeal cancer.

The association between cancer treatments and oral diseases.

Data Sources: MEDLINE/PubMed and EMBASE.

Study Selection: The review included papers published between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 2008. The primary outcome was to retrieve all literature containing original data on dental caries, periodontal disease and pre-cancer dental clearance protocols in cancer patients undergoing head and neck radiotherapy, chemotherapy or combined treatment modalities.

Indirect or direct restorations for heavily restored posterior adult teeth?

There is no high quality evidence that supports or rejects the practice of placing a crown or onlay on a vital posterior tooth rather than a composite or amalgam restoration to ensure longer tooth survival.

Public awareness of oral cancer and associated risk factors is low.

Study Design: A survey was carried out over a three-year period (2004-2007) in Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres or in patients' homes in Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland. Participants included young patients diagnosed with oral cancer.

Data Collection And Analysis: Data were collected by interview using a semi-structured interview schedule.

Does toluidine blue detect more oral cancer?

Design: A randomised controlled trial.

Intervention: 28,167 individuals aged 15 years or older who were invited participate in a screening programme, 17,890 who lacked oral habits such as cigarette smoking or chewing betel quid were excluded leaving 10,277 eligible individuals. Of these, 2,302 refused to participate leaving a sample of 7,975 for randomisation.

Oral cancer screening programmes.

Data Sources: The Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Medline, Embase and CANCERLIT.

Study Selection: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of screening for oral cancer or potentially malignant disorders using visual examination, toluidine blue, fluorescence imaging or brush biopsy were included. There were no restrictions regarding language or date of publication.

Clinical recommendations for oral cancer screening.

Scope And Purpose: To address the benefits and limitations of oral cancer screening and the use of adjunctive screening aids to visualise and detect potentially malignant and malignant oral lesions. Squamous cell carcinomas of the lips and cancers of the oropharynx (including the posterior one-third of the base of the tongue and the tonsils were excluded.

Methodology: A specially convened expert panel evaluated the available evidence which was derived from a systematic search of Medline and the Cochrane Library.

Oral dysplasia and risk of progression to cancer.

Data Sources: Medline, EMbase and Cochrane databases.

Study Selection: Studies were included if they reported data on patients with a histologically-confirmed diagnosis of oral dysplasia. They also had to study at least one outcome measure and one intervention method or clinical risk factor.

Socioeconomic status and head and neck cancer.

Design: This was a population-based case-control study. CASE-CONTROL SELECTION: Eligible patients were aged between 18 and 80 years and had a primary histopathological diagnosis made between April 2002 and December 2004. Diagnosis included malignant cancers of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx or larynx.

Critically appraising systematic reviews.

Critical appraisal is one of the key skills of evidence-based practice and is now increasingly being taught in dental schools. Here we outline the key principles of appraising systematic reviews.

Diagnostic delay broadly associated with more advanced stage oral cancer.

Data Sources: Medline, Embase, ISI Proceedings and the reference lists of relevant articles were used to find relevant studies.

Study Selection: Studies were included if: they presented original data from observational studies; included patients with a confirmed pathological diagnosis of oral or oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma; the outcome of interest was clearly defined as disease stage (TNM classification); the exposure of interest was total diagnostic delay, defined as the period between the patient noticing either the first sign or symptom and definitive diagnosis (data were collected from interviews using a standardised questionnaire and medical records); provided relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) or provided enough data to allow calculation of these figures.

Data Extraction And Synthesis: Quality assessment was undertaken independently by two reviewers and followed the recommendations of the Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE).

Periodontal treatment did not prevent complications of pregnancy.

Design: A randomised controlled trial (RCT) was conducted.

Intervention: Women found to have a periodontal disease were randomly allocated to receive periodontal treatment in midpregnancy (this was the treatment group; n = 542) or after the pregnancy was concluded (the control group; n = 540). Periodontal disease was defined as presence of periodontal pockets of 4 mm or greater in depth at 12 or more probing sites in fully erupted teeth (typically excluding wisdom teeth).

NHS clinical knowledge summaries.

The UK National Health Service (NHS) Clinical Knowledge Summaries, formerly known as PRODIGY, are part of the National Library for Health and provide a source of evidence-based information and practical know-how relating to the common conditions managed in primary care.

Critically appraising randomised trials.

Critical appraisal is one of the key skills of evidence-based practice and is now increasingly being taught in dental schools. Here we outline the key principles of appraising randomised controlled trials (RCT).

American Dental Association evidence-based dentistry website.

In March 2009, the American Dental Association (ADA) launched a new evidence-based dentistry (EBD) website (ebd.ada.org).

Guidelines for bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaw.

Scope And Purpose: This guideline aimed to provide recommendations for the diagnosis of bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaw in both the oncology and osteoporosis patient populations, for dental and medical practitioners including dentists, oral surgeons, oral pathologists, general practitioners and internal medicine specialists. The recommendations are intended to address both prevention and treatment strategies.

Methods: A consensus-based guideline was developed by a multidisciplinary task force including representatives from national and international societies representing the disciplines of oral surgery, dentistry, oral pathology, oral medicine, endocrinology, rheumatology and oncology.

Handsearching still a valuable element of the systematic review.

Data Sources: The Cochrane Methodology Register, Medline, Embase, AMED, Biosis, Cinahl, LISA, and Psycinfo were consulted along with researchers who may have carried out relevant studies.

Study Selection: Studies were considered eligible if they compared searching by hand with searching one or more electronic databases to identify reports of randomised trials.

Data Extraction And Synthesis: The main outcome measure was the number of reports of randomised trials identified from searches made by hand compared with electronic searching.

The TRIP database.

The TRIP (Turning Research into Practice) database has an apparently simple goal: to allow health professionals to easily find the highest-quality material available on the Web to help support evidence-based practice.

Guidelines for the management of patients who are taking oral anticoagulants and who require dental surgery.

Scope And Purpose: This aims to provide healthcare professionals, including primary care dental practitioners, with clear guidance on the management of patients who are taking oral anticoagulants and who need dental surgery.

Methods: Medline and Embase databases were searched from 1950-2006 using the following keywords: dental, surgery, oral and anticoagulants. The guideline was developed according to the guidelines of the British Committee for Standards in Haematology (BCSH), which can be seen in detail at www.

Little evidence to support the use of editorial peer review to ensure quality of published research.

Data Sources: Studies were identified using the following sources: CINAHL (Cumulative Index to nursing and Allied Health Literature), Cochrane Methodology Register, Dissertation Abstracts, Embase, Evidence-based Medicine Reviews, American College of Physicians Journal Club, Medline, PsycINFO and PubMed.

Study Selection: Prospective or retrospective comparative studies were included that had two or more comparison groups, generated by random or other appropriate methods, and that reported original research, regardless of publication status.

Data Extraction And Synthesis: Because of the variety of study designs, unit of randomisation and outcome measures, a descriptive review was carried out.