The clinical performance of 832 resin-retained bridges and splints provided in the adult fixed prosthodontic clinic of a post-graduate teaching hospital was reviewed. Recall data was available for 58.4% of cases and the median survival was 7 years and 10 months. Analysis of clinical variables influencing survival revealed that the design and retainer coverage were significant factors. The experience of the operator carrying out treatment also had a pronounced effect which was not readily explained in terms of the distribution of other significant factors. Resin-retained restorations made with minimal tooth preparation are shown to be capable of extended clinical service and their failure rarely resulted in adverse consequences for the patient. Patient satisfaction with their treatment was reportedly high.

Background/Aims: There are numerous treatment options following traumatic dental

Lectures are effective at improving the knowledge and retention of knowledge of dental undergraduate students in dental trauma. However, retention of the knowledge is time limited suggesting that education should be repeated after a certain period of time to ensure that a high level of knowledge is maintained.

Patients with IBD use probiotics to manage their health but frequently choose strains without evidence of efficacy in IBD. Patients rely on nonclinical sources of information and often do not disclose probiotic use to healthcare professionals. Conventional healthcare providers should inquire about probiotic use among their patients and offer evidence-based advice.

Phantom bite syndrome was first described by Marbach over 40 years ago as a mono-symptomatic hypochondriacal psychosis. He used the term to describe a prolonged syndrome in which patients report that their ‘bite is wrong’ or that ‘their dental occlusion is abnormal’ with this causing them great difficulties. This strong belief about ‘their bite’ being the source of their problems leads to them demanding, and subsequently getting, various types of dentistry carried out by multiple dentists and ‘specialists’. Sadly, even after exhaustive, painstaking, careful treatment, none of the dental treatments manages to solve their perceived ‘bite problems’. This is because they suffer from a psychiatric illness involving a delusion into which they continue to lack insight, in spite of the failures of often sophisticated dental treatments.1,2,3 In summary, dental practitioners, or other specialists, who suspect that they might be dealing with such a problem should refer these patients early on for specialist management by an appropriate specialist within the secondary care settings, preferably before they get trapped into the time-consuming quagmire of their management. A ‘Phantom Bite Questionnaire’, which is available to download free, might help. Clinical relevance: This article aims to provide professionals in various fields with guidelines on detecting, diagnosing and managing patients with Phantom Bite Syndrome (PBS). This is desirable in order to prevent extensive, or unnecessarily destructive, or unstable dental treatment being undertaken on such patients in a vain attempt to solve their problems with ‘dentistry’ when, in fact, these are really due to underlying mental health issues.

No abstract

This paper details the characteristics of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) during the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020 at an Urgent Dental Care hub at King’s College Hospital Dental Institute, London, UK. For comparisons to be made, the characteristics of TDIs from a similar period in 2019 was also collected. Data was collected retrospectively from clinical records of patients suffering from dental trauma during both periods. An analysis was completed and conclusions drawn. The results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the frequency, aetiology and type of TDIs. In order to suitably manage the provision of dental services, consideration must be given to the influence of pandemics on the characteristics of dental emergencies.

There are apps available for both patients and dentists that range in quality and on the whole lack real-life photographs. Future apps should continue to provide good quality, evidence-based and validated material.