Should our older, edentulous patients live with their teeth sitting in a glass of water?

Over 20 years ago, the McGill consensus statement stated that a mandibular two-implant overdenture should be the first choice of care for our edentulous patients. We have around three million edentulous patients in England and Wales currently, many over the age of 60, and many of whom are not able to wear a satisfactory set of complete dentures, let alone able to eat a normal diet. In 2009, the York consensus statement produced by the British Society of Prosthodontics concluded that "a substantial body of evidence is now available demonstrating that patients' satisfaction and quality of life with implant-supported overdentures in the mandible is significantly greater than conventional dentures".

Dentolegal aspects of dental implants.

Dentists providing implant dental treatment need to fully appreciate the legal and clinical issues that are relevant to implant dentistry. The legal aspects of implant dentistry, according to UK law, are described in this article. Suggestions for how the risks of implant treatment might be mitigated, with tips and examples are provided.

Exploring deep caries management and barriers to the use of vital pulp treatments by primary care dental practitioners.

Aim: The European Society of Endodontology outlines best practices for the management of deep caries and the pulp. Despite evidence supporting vital pulp treatments (VPTs) as predictable alternatives to conventional endodontic treatment, studies have shown they are not widely adopted in the UK. This study aimed to explore the barriers to implementation of VPTs by primary care general dental practitioners (GDPs).

Undergraduate perspectives of the awareness, diagnosis and management of patients with eating disorders.

Introduction Patients with eating disorders (EDs) may present with potentially life-threatening complications due to missed and late diagnoses. Dentists can play a fundamental role in the early identification and signposting of patients with suspected EDs.Aims To investigate the awareness of final-year dental students of the aetiology, diagnosis and management of EDs.

What is occlusion? Part 2.

Some dentists choose to ignore the subject of occlusion, while others propose a set of doctrinal rules. It is of little wonder therefore that it can become a source of confusion and even controversy. This series of two papers aims, firstly, to answer the very simple question of 'what is occlusion?'.

What is occlusion? Part 1.

Some dentists choose to ignore the subject of occlusion, while others propose a set of doctrinal rules. It is of little wonder therefore that it can become a source of confusion and even controversy. This series of two papers aims, firstly, to answer the very simple question of 'what is occlusion?'.

The consequences of Dental trauma.

Traumatic dental injuries pose a variety of complex ongoing issues to the dental practitioner. As dental injuries are commonly experienced at a young age, the treatment often takes place during adolescence or early in adulthood years at crucial development stages and very early in the life of the permanent successor. Therefore, the ability to correctly diagnose the injury, and follow an appropriate management plan should increase practitioners' ability to improve both the outcomes of dental trauma and long-term prognosis of the tooth.

Involving young people and parents in decision-making for hypodontia.

Involving young people and their parents in decisions about their health care is ethically and professionally the right thing to do. Good decision-making relies on informed, value-based deliberation. Providing the right treatment for people with hypodontia is complex, both technically, in terms of the range of options available, and from a communication perspective.

The genetic basis of hypodontia in dental development.

Dental agenesis is one of the most common developmental anomalies in humans, characterised by the developmental absence of one or more teeth. It can present as an isolated condition (non-syndromic hypodontia) or associated with a syndrome (syndromic hypodontia). This paper aims to review the genetic basis of hypodontia with reference to aetiology, classification and the subsequent clinical features.

The role of the general dental practitioner in the management of the hypodontia patient.

The general dental practitioner (GDP) is usually the first person to suspect that a young patient is affected by hypodontia. The condition occurs rarely in the primary dentition but is relatively common in the permanent dentition. Between the ages of 7 and 12 years, failure of a permanent tooth to erupt as expected will lead the GDP to initiate and then contribute to the ideal management of the patient's condition.

A service evaluation of the multidisciplinary team approach to hypodontia.

Introduction Patients with hypodontia can be seen by a multidisciplinary team clinic (MDT) for treatment planning at the University Dental Hospital of Manchester (UDHM). The MDT consists of orthodontics, restorative dentistry and oral surgery colleagues.Aims and methods A retrospective case-note analysis was conducted on 558 hypodontia patients seen on Manchester Hypodontia Clinic (MHC) between 2016-2022 to assess service utilisation and treatment planning outcomes.

Practical advice for successful clinical treatment with resin-bonded bridges.

Resin-bonded bridges are one of the main options for replacing missing teeth for hypodontia patients. This technique offers several advantages for these patients, who are often young, have unrestored abutment teeth, and have had tooth positions optimised by orthodontic treatment. However, the replacement of missing teeth can be challenging due to tooth positions and anomalies of abutment tooth shape and size.

The dental technician as a member of the hypodontia multidisciplinary team, with practical considerations for anterior restoration design.

Most patients seeking treatment for hypodontia will require prosthetic replacement of their missing teeth. This will be in the form of dentures, bridges and implant restorations. As these are created by one or more dental technicians who supports the clinical team, a close working relationship between these colleagues is likely to improve the quality of treatment outcome.

Restorative dentistry clinical decision-making for hypodontia: complex cases.

Hypodontia is a relatively common condition and patients will be seen by both general dental practitioners and specialist dental colleagues. Although hypodontia can be described as mild, moderate and severe, this does not directly correlate with the complexity of treatment required to provide an acceptable outcome. In addition, the complexity of treatment provided by one colleague in the multidisciplinary team may not be the same as for other colleagues.

Restorative dentistry clinical decision-making for hypodontia: managing missing premolar teeth.

Hypodontia is a relatively common clinical condition and the second premolar tooth is the most common tooth that fails to develop (excluding third molars). For some patients, no treatment is required, as there is little, if any, consequence of the condition. For other patients, the missing teeth are part of a more complex dental presentation, requiring specialist dental management.

Restorative dentistry clinical decision-making for hypodontia: peg and missing lateral incisor teeth.

Peg-shaped and missing lateral incisor teeth are common features for patients affected by hypodontia. While improvements in dental appearance may be a strong motivating factor for these patients, providing dental treatment to improve the clinical condition and achieve an acceptable and stable outcome can be complex and lengthy.For patients affected by hypodontia, discussion and consideration of various approaches to their individual treatment are best achieved in a multidisciplinary team environment.

The prevalence of the failure of fixed orthodontic bonded retainers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: To systematically assess the scientific literature for the prevalence of failure rate of fixed orthodontic bonded retainer (FOBR).

Method: Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and prospective non-RCTs involving participants who had FOBR fitted were included. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of science, MEDLINE, and EMBASE via OVID were searched from inception to January 2023.

Dentists' Approaches to Treatment Decision-Making for People with Dementia: A Qualitative Study.

Introduction: Globally, the number of people living with dementia (PLwD) is projected to increase substantially. Dentists will encounter an increasing number of PLwD retaining natural teeth who need dental care. Dental treatment planning can be complex for PLwD as both oral diseases and dental treatment can be detrimental to patients' oral and social function and comfort.

The scientific evidence for pre-adjusted edgewise attachments and mechanics.

Introduction Fixed orthodontic appliance systems continue to evolve with a wealth of evidence emerging to underpin these refinements.Aims To present the evidence from comparative prospective research informing the selection of fixed appliance design and mechanics.Design Detailed literature review.