Annual review of selected dental literature: report of the Committee on Scientific Investigation of the American Academy of Restorative Dentistry.

摘要

This review of current dental literature published in 2005 summarizes articles selected on the basis of new information or important confirmatory results that contribute to the advance of dentistry. In addition to the summary presented, there are comments on the relative strength of the evidence presented in the published reports cited. The quality and validity of the current dental literature is widely variable and often misleading or inaccurate. Careful interpretation of scientific information remains both a requirement and a formidable task for the practicing dentist in order to stay current and provide state-of-the-art dental care.Evidence-based research methods introduce objective, nonbiased studies as a scientific foundation for treatment decisions and choices of materials and techniques . The highest order of scientific evidence for treatment effectiveness is the randomized, controlled clinical trial, which is blinded and longitudinal. Next in order of importance are cohort or longitudinal studies, case-controlled studies, noncontrolled case studies, descriptive studies, and animal or laboratory studies. The primary goal of this review is to aid the practicing dentist in critically analyzing the current literature and in recognizing the hierarchy of evidence. This scientific approach is especially necessary today, as new products and techniques are promoted during lectures and through advertising media that have had neither sufficient time in use nor any valid scientific evaluation.