British dental journal
-
British dental journal · Nov 2011
Treating patients with dry mouth: general dental practitioners' knowledge, attitudes and clinical management.
To assess primary care dental practitioners' knowledge, attitudes and clinical management of patients presenting with dry mouth. ⋯ Dentists working in the SDS had positive attitudes and increased confidence which were related to postgraduate educational experiences. Education at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels should be supported by clinical exposure to patients in order to improve dentists' confidence and competence to manage xerostomia and its complications.
-
British dental journal · Nov 2011
Biography Historical ArticleThe surgeons Halsted and Hall, cocaine and the discovery of dental anaesthesia by nerve blocking.
William Stewart Halsted is considered to be one of the most influential and innovative surgeons the USA has ever produced. His contributions to surgery are abundant, ranging from sophisticated surgical techniques in the field of breast surgery, surgery of the digestive apparatus and traumatological interventions, to the introduction of gloves in the operating theatre. Here we present Dr Halsted, together with his aide Dr Hall, as the discoverers of the technique for blocking the inferior alveolar nerve and the antero-superior dental nerve using cocaine as an anaesthetic. The anaesthetic technique, described perfectly by both surgeons in 1885, has been revolutionary in the practice of odontology since its introduction, offering dentists the possibility of performing invasive interventions to the maxillary without pain.
-
British dental journal · Nov 2011
Relative efficacy of oral analgesics after third molar extraction--a 2011 update.
This article provides a summary of the efficacy, and relative efficacy, of 38 different drugs or drug combinations tested in standard postoperative pain trials. It will help clinicians and patients make informed choices about analgesia based on pain relief, duration of action, and adverse events, which can then be put into context for the individual patient, depending on local availability. This article highlights the fact that no single drug is effective in all patients--even the best drugs fail to provide good levels of pain relief in at least 30%. These patients should try a different analgesic.
-
British dental journal · Jul 2011
Quality indicators: the rationale behind their use in NHS dentistry.
This paper explores the concept of quality as applied to healthcare and its subsequent application to dentistry. The assessment of quality arose from the manufacturing industry and is viewed as a cornerstone of current Government thinking. The difficulties in defining and therefore in measuring are examined and, in particular, the tensions between quantifying quality at a population level and at an individual level. The findings of the application of quality measures to primary medical care are reviewed, especially those that are linked to financial reimbursement of care providers and the implications for any future dental agenda discussed.