The Journal of the American Dental Association
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In this executive summary, the authors describe a protocol for assessing patients with temporomandibular disorder (TMD). It is based on the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD) for clinical and research applications. ⋯ The DC/TMD is appropriate for use in clinical and research settings to allow for a comprehensive assessment of patients with TMD.
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Dental emergency department (ED) visits are increasing nationally, but EDs provide only palliative care. The authors examine time to subsequent dentist visit within 6 months after the ED visit, as well as the effect of having a dentist visit in the prior year. ⋯ Adults without a dentist visit in the past year and those who visit ED repeatedly can be targeted by ED diversion programs because they are at higher risk of not receiving follow-up dental care.
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Clinicians using evidence to inform decisions on a daily basis have access to a number of tools to help them judge the importance of discriminating studies conducted using suboptimal methods from more rigorous ones. Many checklists have been developed to facilitate and guide clinicians to identify and critically appraise clinical studies. However, only limited guidance is available addressing how clinicians can identify misleading claims from those that can be supported reliably by study results. ⋯ In this final article of a series of 10, the authors provide key concepts that clinicians can use to help them avoid using biased inferences or statements that are "too good to be true."
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This is a review of the management considerations regarding exodontia for patients taking antithrombotic medications that affect platelet function or aggregation. ⋯ Dentists can safely complete exodontia in patients who continue taking antiplatelet therapy. The dentist should consult the patient's prescribing physician before considering altering the patient's antiplatelet therapy regimen.