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ADA Council on Scientific Affairs

Publications and source records attributed to ADA Council on Scientific Affairs.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Using mouthguards to reduce the incidence and severity of sports-related oral injuries.

BACKGROUND: This report reviews the available literature on the types and properties of athletic mouthguards, current fabrication methods and the role of mouth protectors in reducing the incidence and severity of sports-related oral injuries. OVERVIEW: For more than 50 years, the American Dental Association has promoted the protective value of wearing properly fitted mouthguards while participating in athletic or recreational activities that carry a risk of dental injury. Safety is essential to maintaining oral health, and a properly fitted mouthguard can minimize the risks of sustaining oral injuries during participation in sports. CONCLUSIONS: The dental literature supports the use and protective value of mouthguards in reducing sports-related injuries to the teeth and soft tissues. Dentists are encouraged to educate patients regarding the risks of oral injury in sports, fabricate properly fitted mouthguards, and provide appropriate guidance on mouthguard types and their protective properties, costs and benefits. Further studies addressing the effectiveness of currently available mouthguard types and population-based interventions for reducing oral injuries are recommended. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Participants in sporting and recreational activities are often susceptible to oral injury. To reduce the incidence and severity of sports-related oral trauma, the use of a properly fitted mouthguard is recommended in any athletic or recreational activity that carries a risk of injury.

American Dental Association↗
PubMed2004

Survey of systematic reviews in dentistry.

BACKGROUND: Although systematic reviews are the backbone of evidence-based dentistry, they have appeared infrequently in the clinical dental literature and their importance may not be recognized by dentists. The authors describe the steps taken in systematic reviews and perform a literature survey to identify published systematic reviews of topics relevant to clinical dentistry. METHODS: The authors searched MEDLINE and the Cochrane databases of systematic reviews and abstracts of reviews of effectiveness, as well as identified reviews that were known to the authors but not found in the searches. Systematic reviews included in this survey stated the intention to identify all relevant articles within predefined limitations, applied defined exclusion and inclusion criteria, and presented complete raw or synthesized data from included studies. RESULTS: This literature survey identified 131 systematic reviews, 96 of which had direct clinical relevance. During the past 14 years, clinically relevant systematic reviews have been published with increasing frequency. These reviews vary in the types of studies included and the assessment of those studies. The results of the reviews also varied in their definitiveness, with 17 percent finding the evidence to be insufficient to answer the key question. An additional 50 percent of the 96 reviews hedged in answering the key question, by noting that the supporting evidence was weak in quality or limited in quantity. CONCLUSION: The number of systematic reviews that address clinical topics in dentistry is small but growing. However, the authors of more than one-half of these reviews believed that the evidence available to answer the key question was not strong. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: As systematic reviews continue to grow, dentistry will become better informed about the adequacy and congruence of the scientific evidence underpinning clinical practice.

Data Collection↗
PubMed2003

Dental mercury hygiene recommendations.

BACKGROUND: The ADA has long recognized the importance of observing proper mercury hygiene practices for the safety of dental professionals. In 1999, the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs adopted mercury hygiene recommendations to provide guidance to dentists and their staff members for safe handling of mercury and dental amalgam. These mercury hygiene recommendations have been developed to update those previously adopted by the Council. OVERVIEW: In addition to discussing sources of mercury in the dental office, this Council report describes office engineering considerations and hygiene recommendations to be used during preparation and placement of dental amalgam restorations. New information included in this report covers the management of mercury spills. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: These recommendations are intended to provide guidance to the dental practitioner in ensuring the safety of personnel who handle dental amalgam and in minimizing the release of mercury into the dental office environment.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed2003

Oral malodor.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Halitosis↗
PubMed2003

Direct and indirect restorative materials.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, dentistry has benefited from a marked increase in the development of esthetic materials, including ceramic and plastic compounds. But the advent of these new materials has not eliminated the usefulness of more traditional restorative materials such as gold, base metal alloys and dental amalgam. OVERVIEW: This report outlines important features of direct and indirect restoratives, with an emphasis on the safety and efficacy of each material. CONCLUSIONS AND PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This article was developed to help dentists explain to their patients the relative pros and cons of various materials used in dental restorations, which include fillings, crowns, bridges and inlays. The weight of the scientific evidence indicates that all of these materials are safe and effective for their intended use. Patients, in consultation with their dentists, are free to choose the most appropriate among them for their particular needs.

Ceramics↗
PubMed2003

Proper use of beryllium-containing alloys.

BACKGROUND: To assist dentists in providing a safe and healthful workplace, the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs developed this advisory statement on the proper use of beryllium-containing alloys in the dental operatory and laboratory. OVERVIEW: Recommendations are made for reducing the potential risk of beryllium exposure for employees working in dental operatories or laboratories who fabricate or manipulate beryllium-containing alloys in dental prostheses. CONCLUSIONS AND PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The Council recommends that practitioners adhere to the Ocupational Safety and Health Administration's recommendations for reducing beryllium exposure in the dental operatory and laboratory. These include the recommendation that--where possible--practitioners use alloys that do not contain beryllium in the fabrication of dental prostheses.

Beryllium↗
PubMed2003

The key to profound local anesthesia: neuroanatomy.

BACKGROUND: To achieve profound dental local anesthesia, it is necessary for the dentist to have a thorough knowledge of the details of sensory innervation to the maxilla and mandible. Since the early 1970s, dentistry has experienced a resurgence of interest in the neuroanatomical basis of local anesthesia, resulting in numerous scientific reports on the subject. OVERVIEW: Current studies afford a more detailed knowledge of the branching of various divisions of the trigeminal nerve, the great sensory nerve of the head region. In this article, the authors provide an update of the peripheral distribution of the trigeminal nerve to enhance induction of safe and effective dental local anesthesia. CONCLUSIONS AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: An understanding of the potential variations in innervation should help the dentist improve his or her ability to induce profound local anesthesia.

Anesthesia, Dental↗
PubMed2003

Avoiding complications in local anesthesia induction: anatomical considerations.

BACKGROUND: Dentists administer thousands of local anesthetic injections every day with few reports of serious complications. However, misjudging the anatomy involved during local anesthetic administration can result not only in inadequate or incomplete anesthesia, but in other complications such as paresthesia, bleeding or hematoma formation, or in serious systemic complications. OVERVIEW: The authors discuss anatomical considerations that dentists should keep in mind when administering local anesthetic injections. In particular, they discuss ways in which dentists can minimize the risk of nerve or vascular injury, as well as systemic complications. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Even the most experienced practitioner can benefit from a periodic review of the anatomy associated with local anesthesia. This article offers dentists the opportunity to consider needle placement with regard to location of nerves, blood vessels and glands, and to review injection protocols that can minimize the risk of complications.

Anesthesia, Dental↗
PubMed2003

Manual versus powered toothbrushes: the Cochrane review.

BACKGROUND: In a report released in January 2003, The Cochrane Collaboration Oral Health Group provided a systematic review of the effectiveness of powered versus manual toothbrushes, which generated much interest in the popular press. METHODS: The Cochrane researchers developed and implemented search strategies for the Cochrane Oral Health Group's Trial Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. They contacted manufacturers for additional information. Trials were selected if they met the following criteria: compared power versus manual toothbrushes, had a randomized design, drew participants from a general population without disabilities, provided data regarding plaque and gingivitis, and were at least 28 days in length. Reviewers evaluated only studies published in 2001 or earlier. Six reviewers from the Cochrane study independently extracted information in duplicate. Indexes for plaque and gingivitis were expressed as standardized values for data distillation. Data distillation was accomplished using a meta-analysis, with a mean difference between powered and manual toothbrushes serving as the measure of effectiveness. RESULTS: The searches identified 354 trials, only 29 of which met the inclusion criteria. These trials involved about 2,500 subjects and provided data for meta-analysis. The results indicated that only the rotating oscillating toothbrush consistently provided a statistically significant, although modest, clinical benefit over manual toothbrushes in reducing plaque and gingivitis. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Some powered toothbrushes with a rotation-oscillation action achieve a significant, but modest, reduction in plaque and gingivitis compared with manual toothbrushes.

Dental Plaque↗