Research Guides: Dental Medicine: Resources for the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine: Evidence Based Resources

Evidence Based Dental Blogs

The number of published research articles in clinical dentistry grows larger each year. Analysis shows that even in specific subject areas publication is spread across many journal titles.

The Dental Elf is a daily blog maintained by the editor of Evidence Based Dentistry. It provides brief summaries highlighting evidence-based publications relevant to dental practice.

TOP: The Orthodontic Professors "is a curated site dedicated to providing evidence-based professional opinion from experts in the field...(the) mission is to promote the use of best evidence in clinical orthodontics and orthodontic education."

Evidence Based Tutorials

Introduction to Evidence-Based Dentistry

Boston University Medical Center

How to Research Your Dentistry Essay

University of Toronto

ADA Evidence-based Dentistry Tutorials

Evidence-based Dentistry: Getting Started

Evidence-based Dentistry: Making Clinical Decisions

Evidence-based Dentistry: Educating Others

Evidence-based Dentistry: Improving Business Operations

What is Evidence Base Dentistry

The American Dental Association defines evidence based dentistry as:

"an approach to oral health care that requires the judicious integration of systematic assessments of clinically relevant scientific evidence, relating to the patient's oral and medical condition and history, with the dentist's clinical expertise and the patient's treatment needs and preferences."

EBD integrates:

the dentist's expertise,
the best available scientific evidence,
and the patient's needs and preferences.

EBD 5 Step Process

The EBD process is a structured approach to identifying and using the best information relevant to a particular clinical problem. It follows these 5 steps:

Question
Articulate a clear question based on the patient's clinical problem.
Find
Conduct a comprehensive search for the latest relevant research
Appraise
Critically assess the evidence
Act
Use the best identified valid and relevant evidence in patient care
Evaluate
Assess how well the previous steps worked

Series of Articles from the Journal of the Canadian Dental Association

A series of free articles published in the Journal of the Canadian Dental Association (JCDA) titled "The Building Blocks of Evidence-Based Dentistry" by Susan E. Sutherland are a useful explanation of the EBD process.

• Sutherland SE. (2001) Evidence based dentistry: Part I Getting started. Journal of the Canadian Dental Association. 67(4): 204-06. PMID: 11370277

• Sutherland SE, Walker S. (2001) Evidence based dentistry: Part II Searching for answers to clinical questions: How to use MEDLINE. Journal of the Canadian Dental Association. 67(5): 277-80. PMID: 11398391

• Sutherland SE. Evidence based dentistry: Part III Searching for answers to clinical questions: Finding evidence on the Internet Journal of the Canadian Dental Association. 67(6): 320-3. PMID: 11450294

• Sutherland SE. (2001) Evidence based dentistry: Part IV Research design and levels of evidence.Journal of the Canadian Dental Association. 67(7) 375-78. PMID: 11468093

• Sutherland SE. Evidence based dentistry: Part V Critical appraisal of the dental literature: Papers about therapy. Journal of the Canadian Dental Association.67(8); 442-5. PMID: 1583604

• Sutherland SE. (2001) Evidence based dentistry: Part VI Critical appraisal of the dental literature: Papers about diagnosis, etiology and prognosis. Journal of Canadian Dental Association. 67(10) 582-5. PMID: 11737981

Evidence Based Dentistry Web-Resources

American Dental Association
Its Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry introduces concepts of EBD and links to recommended Web resources. Browse the topical index of its Evidence Database of systematic reviews, some of which have Critical Summaries.
Boston University Alumni Medical Library
Its EBD Tutorial covers definitions, steps in the research process, and types of resources to explore.
Centre for Evidence-Based Dentistry
This British organization provides guidance for practicing EBD as well as conducting research for evidence and systematic reviews.
Cochrane Oral Health Group
Established in 1996, the Group has over 800 authors who collaborate on creating systematic reviews, which are included in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Rutgers licenses the CDSR from Wiley (links from PubMed). The ADA's EBD website above lists most Cochrane SRs by topic.
Nature Publishing Group
This introductory page for its journal Evidence-Based Dentistry provides featured free articles.

TRIP Database
Evidence-based medical and dental resources from systematic searches of the internet, reports in the literature, self-reporting by site owners and other recommendations. Because the sites are evaluated by an in-house team of information experts and clinicians and external experts to assess quality and clinical usefulness its search has potential to be more focusd and relevant than a Google or Google Scholar search. Also has separate sections for medical images and patient information leaflets.

University of Adelaide
Its EBD guide gives an overview of evidence-based healthcare with some dental examples. It emphasizes how to search for articles using electronic databases PubMed, Embase, Dentistry and Oral Sciences Source and Cochrane Library.

ADA Center for Evidence Based Medicine

The Evidence Database Topic Index in the American Dental Association's Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry provides access to a curated collection of current systematic reviews, critical summaries and practice guidelines.

The Evidence Database is updated quarterly so it is possible that you will find a more current review if you search a continuously updated database like PubMed.

You should also turn to a database like PubMed when you do not find a review on your topic in the ADA's DSR. Search first for a systematic review and then for individual research studies.

EBP Resources

ADA Center for Evidence Based Dentistry
Centre for Evidence-Based Dentistry A practical resource for scientific evidence. Includes systematic reviews and clinical recommentations. Updates, opportunities to participate in review panels and more.
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews The Cochrane Library is a collection of evidence-based medicine databases, providing clinicians reliable and current information on the effects of interventions in health care.
Cochrane Oral Health Group The Cochrane Oral Health Review Group comprises an international network of healthcare professionals, researchers and consumers preparing, maintaining, and disseminating systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials in oral health.
National Guideline Clearinghouse The National Guideline Clearinghouse is a public comprehensive database of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and related documents provided by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.