New guidance from SDCEP

Next month SDCEP, the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme will launch new guidance on the Oral Health Management of Patients Prescribed Anti-resorptive or Anti-angiogenic Drugs.

Patients who are taking anti-resorptive or anti-angiogenic drugs have a small risk of developing medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ). MRONJ may be more prevalent in patients who have dental procedures which impact on bone, for example extractions.

The guidance has been developed to support dental practitioners to manage the routine dental treatment of patients prescribed drugs associated with osteonecrosis of the jaw. These include anti-resorptive drugs, such as the bisphosphonates and denosumab, and anti-angiogenic therapies, such as bevacizumab, sunitinib and aflibercept. Prescribers and dispensers of these drugs, as well as patients, may also find the information in this guidance of relevance.

The guidance updates the 2011 SDCEP publication Oral Health Management of Patients Prescribed Bisphosphonates providing recommendations to reflect the most up-to-date evidence and advances in clinical experience with this patient group.

The guidance will be available on the SDCEP website after its launch: www.sdcep.org.uk

Crown or Fill Website

The Crownorfill website is an interesting new development from a small group of researchers from McGill University (Canada), Concordia University (Canada) and the University of Bern (Switzerland). It has been developed to assist knowledge transfer from researchers to clinicians. The webpage provides drop-down boxes to select the type of tooth being restored and provides failure rate data on various types of restorations. The data are derived from systematic reviews of the literature. However, the number of systematic reviews included is small at present and it would benefit from a clear indication of the quality of the available evidence. This type of site could act as a useful tool for clinicians in the future and it will be interesting to how it develops.