Accessing the best available evidence

With the constant change in the dental landscape, it is becoming increasingly difficult for dental professionals to ensure that they are keeping up-to-date with legislation whilst also providing the best available care for their patients. At the same time, they could easily be pressured into believing that the latest dental material or product will solve all their clinical woes by the sheer strength of conviction of an advertising campaign or sales people. Patients' perceptions, priorities and expectations are also moving goalposts; with the widespread use of the internet, they can be quick to tell even the most experienced dental professional about the latest ‘breakthrough treatment’ that they expect to be provided. Many dental professionals will question where to seek reliable information, in a timely manner, without resulting in even more confusion.

The American Dental Association defines Evidence-based Dentistry (EBD) as:

‘an approach to oral healthcare 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’.1