The Dental Update Archive

A 17-year-old Afro-Caribbean male was referred to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) department at Frenchay Hospital (Bristol, UK) by a general dental practitioner for the surgical removal of a...

A written survey was sent to all qualified dental and maxillofacial radiologists working in dental hospitals in the UK. They were asked to grade how confident they were in diagnosing dense bone...

Effective odontogenic pain management and post-operative pain management is fundamental to quality dental care. Conventional analgesics act by interrupting ascending nociceptive information or...

Without patient consent, no clinical images should be taken. The Institute of Medical Illustrator's code of practice (1986) advises that informed consent is required for any clinical images from which...

A healthy 12-year-old boy attended the paediatric casualty clinic of a UK dental hospital as an emergency patient after an accident earlier that day at school. The boy had tripped and fallen in the...

Antibiotics can be of benefit and may even be life-saving in medical and dental treatment, eg Ludwig's angina, brain abscess. The decision to use antibiotics, however, must be based on a thorough...

The patient was a 14-year-old female, referred for a second opinion by a specialist orthodontist who had not performed the orthodontic treatment. The patient's complaint was her inability to close her...

A thorough pain history is crucial and time needs to be taken when taking it as it should provide sufficient detail to guide clinicians to the most likely diagnosis. It is also important to institute...

A failing restoration can be described as one that has suffered biomechanical defect or damage resulting in immediate or subsequent detrimental clinical consequences to the patient. This may affect...