Marginal bone loss in ball versus locator attachments in implant-retained overdentures: systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This systematic review compares the impact of ball and locator attachments on marginal bone loss in implant-retained overdentures in completely edentulous patients. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Following PRISMA guidelines, health science librarians completed literature searches from inception to March 17, 2023 in seven databases. There were 15,686 items exported to EndNote from Embase.com, CINAHL (EBSCO), Cochrane Library, Ovid MEDLINE-ALL, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Hand-searching added four more articles. After deduplication, 6756 items were screened for eligibility. Twenty-nine studies were assessed by full text, of which ten studies, involving 424 subjects, were included in the review. Risk of bias assessment was conducted using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. A meta-analysis was performed to synthesize and analyze the collective data from the selected studies. RESULTS: The included studies used diverse methodologies, implant systems, and loading protocols. Most studies reported no significant difference in marginal bone loss between ball and locator attachments. The meta-analysis revealed high heterogeneity. CONCLUSION: The results of this systematic review suggest that ball and locator attachments exhibit similar performance in terms of marginal bone loss in implant-retained overdentures. However, the limited number, risk of bias, and heterogeneity of studies highlight the need for standardized research designs and larger sample sizes in future investigations to draw more definitive conclusions.

Trends in Controlled Vocabulary and Health Equity.

Medical librarians collaborate with physicians and other healthcare professionals to improve the quality and accessibility of medical information, which includes assembling the best evidence to advance health equality through teaching and research. This column brings together brief cases highlighting the experiences and perspectives of medical librarians, educators, and healthcare professionals using their organizational, pedagogical, and information-analysis skills to advance health equality indexing.

Description and Evaluation of an Evidence-Based Residency Curriculum Using the Evidence-Based Medicine Environment Survey.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Teaching medical trainees evidence-based medicine (EBM) is required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Most published graduate EBM curricula focus on critical appraisal over point-of-care information mastery. Faculty at the University of Rochester Family Medicine Residency implemented a clinically integrated, cyclical EBM curriculum juxtaposing information mastery with expert-level skills such as critical appraisal. We administered the Evidence-Based Medicine Environment Survey (EBMES) to learners before and after the yearlong curriculum. METHODS: Two cohorts of participating third-year residents completed the EBMES before and after an EBM curriculum. RESULTS: Over 2 years, 21 residents completed pre- and postevaluations. Resident perception of the EBM educational and practice environment was high at baseline and improved for 15 of 36 survey items (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: Resident perception of the EBM learning environment improved after participation in a yearlong curriculum. Nearly all of the content covered in the "Science of Family Medicine" curriculum and measured by EBMES improved in a statistically significant manner. We propose that EBM curricula should combine traditional literature search and critical appraisal skills with information mastery to maximize effectiveness. Our curriculum can be modified to fit other graduate family medicine contexts.

Aligning Information Literacy and Evidence-Based Dentistry Concepts in a Rubric to Improve Dental Education.

Understanding of the alignment of key concepts in both evidence-based dentistry and information literacy could lead to greater collaboration between librarians and dental faculty. To identify these areas of partnership, a group of dental librarians from across North America created a rubric aligning information literacy concepts with competencies from dental education groups in the United States and Canada. The process included identifying relevant competencies, determining information literacy concepts for each competency, and adding learning outcomes scaled by Bloom's Taxonomy. The resulting rubric is useful for advocating librarian involvement in dental education curriculum, communication with dental faculty, and instruction planning.

Development of the MASCC/ISOO clinical practice guidelines for mucositis: an overview of the methods.

New studies and literature continue to emerge on the management of mucositis secondary to cancer therapy. The evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for mucositis were first published in 2004 and updated in 2007 and 2014 by the Mucositis Study Group of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer/International Society of Oral Oncology (MASCC/ISOO). The existing 2014 guidelines for mucositis are being updated in line with new literature to inform clinical practice. This paper describes the materials and methods employed for the comprehensive updates to the guidelines for managing mucositis.