ORAL HEALTH EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE PROGRAM
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Title No Evidence To Support Or Refute Use of 6-Month Dental Check-Ups
Clinical Question Do routine 6-monthly check-ups contribute to the oral health of an individual compared to a longer recall interval?
Clinical Bottom Line There is insufficient evidence to support or refute 6-month intervals for dental check-ups. (See Comments on the CAT below)
Best Evidence (you may view more info by clicking on the PubMed ID link)
PubMed ID Author / Year Patient Group Study type
(level of evidence)
#1) 17943814Beirne/2007188 children and adults in primary care settingsSystematic Review
Key resultsNo significant results could be obtained. Only one study met the randomization standards required, and it had limited follow-up results for dental caries.
Evidence Search ("Oral Health"[Mesh] AND "Appointments and Schedules"[Mesh]) OR (“Oral Health" AND "Appointments and Schedules"[Mesh])
Comments on
The Evidence
The standards of randomization were necessary for credible data, but resulted in only one study being included that had limited data on dental caries, an important indicator in overall oral health. No follow-up schedule was recommended. The risk of bias was considerably high in this study.
Applicability This applies to patients of any age who are not on a personalized recall schedule for extensive treatment.
Specialty/Discipline (Public Health) (General Dentistry) (Dental Hygiene)
Keywords Recall interval; schedule; attendance; check-ups; oral health
ID# 451
Date of submission: 12/07/2009spacer Revised: 08/16/2011
E-mail FrancisJ@uthscsa.edu
Author Laura T. Ouch
Co-author(s) J. Christian Francis
Co-author(s) e-mail
Faculty mentor/Co-author Bennett T. Amaechi, BDS, MSc, PhD
Faculty mentor/Co-author e-mail Amaechi@uthscsa.edu
Basic Science Rationale
(Mechanisms that may account for and/or explain the clinical question, i.e. is the answer to the clinical question consistent with basic biological, physical and/or behavioral science principles, laws and research?)
post a rationale
None available
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Comments and Evidence-Based Updates on the CAT
(FOR PRACTICING DENTISTS', FACULTY, RESIDENTS and/or STUDENTS COMMENTS ON PUBLISHED CATs)
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by Shatha Alshehri (San Antonio) on 10/15/2021
An update version of this review was published on 2020 and included two studies(PMID: 33053198). It further supports the conclusions of this CAT that the recall intervals' evidence is still indecisive.
by Margarita Lanternier (San Antonio, Texas) on 04/07/2012
I conducted a PubMed search on this topic in March 2012. The best available evidence to support this clinical question is listed in this CAT.
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