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121+ Interesting Dental Research Topics for Undergraduates

Did you know poor oral health can be linked to heart disease? It’s true! This surprising fact underscores the importance of dental research in maintaining overall health and well-being. 

Understanding the intricate connections between oral health and systemic conditions like heart disease highlights the critical role of research in advancing our knowledge and improving patient outcomes. 

In this blog, we will delve into various dental research topics tailored specifically for undergraduates, providing insights, resources, and inspiration to explore this fascinating field further. 

Whether you’re passionate about dentistry or simply curious about the intersection of oral health and overall wellness, join us as we uncover the exciting possibilities in dental research for undergraduates.

What is Dental Research Topic?

Table of Contents

A dental research topic is a subject of study within the field of dentistry that aims to explore, investigate, and analyze various aspects related to oral health, dental care, and dental treatments. 

These topics cover a wide range of areas, including but not limited to dental diseases, preventive measures, treatment methods, oral hygiene practices, dental technology advancements, and the impact of oral health on overall well-being. 

Dental research topics provide opportunities for scholars, researchers, and students to contribute to the advancement of dental science, improve patient care, and address current challenges in oral health care.

Importance of Dental Research Topics for Undergraduates

Dental research topics are essential for undergraduates for several reasons:

Skill Development

Engaging in dental research topics helps undergraduates develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills essential for their academic and professional growth.

Contribution to Knowledge

Undertaking research allows undergraduates to contribute to the existing body of knowledge in dentistry, advancing the field and addressing emerging challenges.

Career Preparation

Research experience enhances students’ competitiveness for dental school admissions, graduate programs, and future careers in academia, clinical practice, or research institutions.

Practical Application

Research topics offer undergraduates the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge gained in the classroom to real-world scenarios, fostering a deeper understanding of dental concepts and techniques.

Professional Networking

Engaging in research exposes undergraduates to collaboration with peers, faculty, and professionals, facilitating valuable networking opportunities within the dental community.

Popular Dental Research Topics for Undergraduates

Dental research topics for undergraduates encompass a wide range of areas within dentistry. Here are some examples across different subfields:

Dental Diseases

• The role of genetics in the development of periodontal disease.
• Strategies for early detection and prevention of dental caries.
• Investigating the link between diabetes and periodontal disease.
• Factors influencing the prevalence of oral cancer among different demographics.
• Impact of dietary habits on the occurrence of enamel erosion.
• Effectiveness of fluoride in preventing dental decay.
• The role of saliva in maintaining oral health and preventing diseases.
• Trends in the prevalence of temporomandibular joint disorders.
• Oral manifestations of systemic diseases: A comprehensive review.
• Investigating the relationship between oral health and overall systemic health.
• The effectiveness of probiotics in preventing oral infections.
• Psychological factors influencing dental anxiety and its management.

Dental Treatments

• Comparison of different types of dental implants: Materials, techniques, and success rates.
• Advancements in minimally invasive techniques for dental restoration.
• Comparative analysis of traditional braces versus clear aligners in orthodontic treatment.
• The role of lasers in various dental procedures: Benefits and limitations.
• Innovations in endodontic treatment: From rotary instruments to regenerative techniques.
• Efficacy of different whitening agents in professional and over-the-counter dental bleaching.
• The impact of COVID-19 on dental practice: Adaptations, challenges, and future implications.
• Investigating the use of stem cells in dental tissue regeneration.
• Comparative study of different materials used in dental restorations: Strength, durability, and aesthetics.
• Exploring the potential of 3D printing technology in prosthodontics and oral surgery.
• Patient satisfaction and outcomes following different types of orthognathic surgeries.
• Long-term success rates of various techniques in root canal therapy.

Oral Health Promotion and Education

• Effectiveness of school-based oral health education programs in improving children’s oral hygiene.
• Strategies for promoting oral health in underserved communities: Challenges and solutions.
• Role of social media and technology in disseminating oral health information.
• Impact of community water fluoridation on dental caries prevention.
• The role of parents and caregivers in establishing children’s oral hygiene habits.
• Cultural influences on oral health beliefs and practices: Implications for public health campaigns.
• Effectiveness of motivational interviewing in promoting behavior change for better oral health.
• Investigating the efficacy of school-based dental sealant programs.
• Oral health literacy among different populations: Assessments and interventions.
• The role of dentists in advocating for policies promoting oral health equity.
• Strategies for improving oral health outcomes among elderly populations.
• Integrating oral health education into primary care settings: Opportunities and challenges.

Dental Materials and Biomaterials

• Biocompatibility of dental materials: Assessing safety and long-term effects.
• Development of antimicrobial dental materials to prevent biofilm formation.
• Investigating the mechanical properties of novel dental composites.
• Bioactive materials in dentistry: Applications and clinical implications.
• Biodegradable materials for temporary dental restorations.
• Nanotechnology in dentistry: Potential applications and future directions.
• Development of remineralizing agents for the management of dental caries.
• Investigating the properties and applications of dental ceramics.
• Biomimetic materials in dentistry: Mimicking natural tooth structure for improved outcomes.
• Sustainable practices in dental material manufacturing and disposal.
• Advances in adhesive systems for bonding dental restorations.
• Biomechanical properties of dental implant materials: Enhancing stability and osseointegration.

Oral Microbiology and Immunology

• Microbiome of the oral cavity: Composition, dynamics, and role in health and disease.
• Host-pathogen interactions in periodontal diseases: Insights into disease progression.
• Immunological responses to dental biofilms and their implications for treatment.
• Role of probiotics in modulating oral microbiota and preventing dental diseases.
• Viral infections in dentistry: From herpesviruses to SARS-CoV-2.
• Impact of antimicrobial resistance on dental infections and treatment outcomes.
• Microbial ecology of dental plaques in different oral environments.
• Oral manifestations of HIV/AIDS: Diagnosis, management, and implications.
• Biofilm formation on dental implant surfaces: Prevention and management strategies.
• Innate and adaptive immune responses in oral mucosal diseases.
• Virulence factors of oral pathogens and their role in disease progression.
• Immunomodulatory properties of dental materials and their impact on tissue response.

Dental Public Health

• Epidemiology of dental diseases: Trends, disparities, and risk factors.
• Health promotion strategies for improving access to dental care in rural areas.
• Oral health inequalities among different socioeconomic groups: Causes and solutions.
• Cost-effectiveness of preventive dental interventions: A systematic review.
• Integrating oral health into primary care: Models of collaborative practice.
• Tele-dentistry: Opportunities and challenges for improving access to dental care.
• Oral health surveillance systems: Monitoring trends and assessing needs.
• Assessing the effectiveness of community water fluoridation programs.
• Role of dental professionals in addressing oral health disparities.
• Impact of environmental factors on oral health outcomes: Pollution, climate change, and urbanization.
• Dental workforce issues: Distribution, shortages, and workforce diversity.
• Oral health policies and advocacy: Strategies for promoting legislative change.

Pediatric Dentistry

• Early childhood caries: Risk factors, prevention, and management strategies.
• Behavior management techniques in pediatric dentistry: Evidence-based approaches.
• Oral health outcomes of children with special healthcare needs: Challenges and interventions.
• Dental trauma in children: Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
• Assessment of dental fear and anxiety in pediatric patients: Tools and interventions.
• Maternal and child oral health: Prenatal factors influencing dental health outcomes.
• Dental developmental anomalies: Diagnosis, management, and long-term implications.
• Effectiveness of fluoride varnish application in preventing dental caries in children.
• Impact of nutrition and dietary habits on pediatric oral health.
• Pediatric sedation techniques in dentistry: Safety, efficacy, and guidelines.
• Orthodontic considerations in pediatric dentistry: Early intervention and treatment planning.
• Pediatric dental emergencies: Management and prevention strategies.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

• Outcomes of orthognathic surgery in patients with skeletal discrepancies.
• Management of impacted third molars: Indications, techniques, and complications.
• Reconstruction of maxillofacial defects following trauma or tumor resection: Surgical options and outcomes.
• Temporomandibular joint disorders: Diagnosis, management, and surgical interventions.
• Bone grafting techniques in implant dentistry: Approaches and success rates.
• Surgical management of obstructive sleep apnea: Role of maxillomandibular advancement.
• Surgical treatment options for cleft lip and palate: Multidisciplinary approaches and long-term outcomes.
• Surgical management of oral and maxillofacial infections: Antibiotic therapy, drainage, and debridement.
• Soft tissue augmentation techniques in aesthetic and functional maxillofacial surgery.
• Advancements in minimally invasive techniques for orthognathic surgery.
• Surgical management of facial trauma: Emergency interventions and long-term rehabilitation.
• Digital planning and navigation in oral and maxillofacial surgery: Enhancing precision and outcomes.

Dental Education and Training

• Effectiveness of simulation-based training in dental education: Skill acquisition and retention.
• Integration of digital technology into dental curricula: Challenges and opportunities.
• Peer-assisted learning in dental education: Impact on student performance and satisfaction.
• Interprofessional education in dentistry: Collaborative approaches to patient care.
• Continuing education requirements for dental professionals: Trends and implications.
• Assessment methods in dental education: Moving beyond traditional exams.
• The role of mentorship in shaping the career trajectories of dental students.
• Global perspectives in dental education: Cross-cultural experiences and challenges.
• Incorporating evidence-based practice into dental curricula: Strategies and outcomes.
• Tele-education in dentistry: Remote learning platforms and their effectiveness.
• Student perceptions of clinical experiences in dental education: Barriers and facilitators.
• Innovations in competency-based dental education: Assessing clinical proficiency and readiness for practice.

Dental Technology and Innovation

• Artificial intelligence in dentistry: Applications in diagnosis, treatment planning, and outcomes prediction.
• Virtual reality and augmented reality in dental education and patient care.
• Robotics in dentistry: Automation of procedures and precision in surgical interventions.
• Wearable technology for monitoring oral health behaviors and conditions.
• 3D printing in dentistry: Customization of dental implants, prostheses, and surgical guides.
• Digital smile design: Utilizing technology for aesthetic treatment planning and communication.
• Smart materials in dentistry: Self-healing, self-cleaning, and bioactive properties.
• Teledentistry platforms for remote consultations, monitoring, and patient education.
• Biomimetic approaches in dental materials design: Mimicking natural tooth structure and function.
• Nanomaterials in oral healthcare products: Enhanced delivery systems and therapeutic applications.
• Bioprinting of dental tissues and organs: Advancements in regenerative dentistry.
• Energy-based devices in dentistry: Laser therapy, photobiomodulation, and electrosurgery applications.
• Development of a Smart Toothbrush with Artificial Intelligence Integration.

These topics offer a comprehensive overview of the diverse areas within the field of dental research and provide undergraduates with a plethora of options for exploring their interests and making meaningful contributions to the discipline.

Current Trends in Dental Research

Several trends were prevalent in dental research. While there may have been further developments since then, here are some prominent trends at that time:

Biomimetic Dentistry

Mimicking natural tooth structure and function using advanced materials and techniques.

Tele-dentistry

Utilizing technology for remote consultations, monitoring, and patient education, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regenerative Dentistry

Developing therapies to regenerate dental tissues and promote natural healing processes.

Personalized Dentistry

Tailoring treatment plans based on individual patient characteristics, genetics, and preferences.

Minimally Invasive Dentistry

Emphasizing conservative approaches to preserve tooth structure and improve patient comfort.

Digital Dentistry

Integration of digital technology for diagnostics, treatment planning, and fabrication of dental restorations.

Nanotechnology

Utilizing nanomaterials for improved dental materials, drug delivery systems, and diagnostic tools.

Challenges in Dental Research Topics

Dental research, like any scientific field, faces its share of challenges. These challenges can span various aspects of the research process, from funding and resources to methodological complexities and ethical considerations. Here are some common challenges in dental research:

Funding Constraints

Limited financial resources hinder the initiation and continuation of dental research projects.

Access to Resources

Inadequate access to specialized equipment, materials, and facilities poses a barrier to conducting comprehensive research.

Recruitment of Participants

Difficulty in recruiting diverse and representative study populations affects the generalizability of research findings.

Ethical Considerations

Navigating ethical complexities, such as informed consent and privacy concerns, adds challenges to dental research.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Facilitating collaboration between dental professionals, researchers, and other disciplines is essential but often challenging.

Translation of Research into Practice

Bridging the gap between research findings and clinical implementation remains a significant challenge in dental research.

The exploration of dental research topics holds immense promise for advancing oral health care and addressing multifaceted challenges within the field. 

From unraveling the mysteries of oral diseases to pioneering innovative treatments and technologies, dental research serves as the cornerstone of progress and improvement in patient outcomes. 

Despite facing various challenges such as funding constraints and ethical considerations, the pursuit of dental research remains crucial for enhancing preventive measures, refining treatment modalities, and promoting overall well-being.

By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, embracing emerging trends, and prioritizing the translation of research findings into practice, the dental community can continue to drive impactful discoveries and advancements for the benefit of individuals worldwide.

1. How can I stay updated on the latest dental research?

Staying updated on the latest dental research can be as simple as subscribing to reputable dental journals, attending conferences, and following dental research institutions and experts on social media platforms.

2. What are some examples of emerging dental research topics?

Emerging dental research topics include genetics and oral health, biomaterials and tissue engineering, and microbiome studies, among others.

3. Why is dental research important for patients?

Dental research drives innovation in oral healthcare, leading to improved treatment outcomes, personalized care, and enhanced preventive strategies for patients.

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Systematic Review and Evidence-Based Research in Dentistry

• First Online: 10 April 2022

Cite this chapter

• Fahimeh Tabatabaei 3 &
• Lobat Tayebi 3  

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A systematic review is a scientific data synthesis approach that identifies, assesses, and synthesizes the scientific evidence to answer a specific research question systematically and explicitly. By combining the results of several studies through a precise and reproducible method, one can thus estimate the effect of an intervention with more reliability and greater precision, minimizing the impact of bias or systematic errors that may interfere with primary studies. In the meta-analysis, you can identify reliable patterns and sources of disagreement by contrasting and comparing the results of collected studies. Based on the outcome of systematic review or meta-analysis, the concept of evidence-based dentistry is defined. They allow us to see if the scientific evidence agrees from one study to another and applies to various settings, populations, and interventions or if it only applies to certain subgroups of studies. They can also help to identify gaps in scientific data and guide future research.

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Tabatabaei, F., Tayebi, L. (2022). Systematic Review and Evidence-Based Research in Dentistry. In: Research Methods in Dentistry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98028-3_3

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ADAT Resources: Data, Research Interpretation, and Evidence-Based Dentistry

• Anaesthesiology
• Biochemistry
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Data, Research Interpretation, and Evidence-Based Dentistry

• Dental Anatomy and Occlusion
• Dental Materials
• Endodontics
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• Oral Diagnosis
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery/Pain Control
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The Background Question in EBD

Medlineplus, platforms - collections of textbooks, point-of-care tools, recommended textbooks not contained in a platform.

• Springer Link Dentistry
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The Background Question in EBD research or original research:

• Seeks established general knowledge that you yourself don’t know but the profession as a whole does
• Is usually about a single concept
• Who, what, when, where, why, and how questions
• Findings these answers lays the groundwork for foreground questions
• Usually answered with textbooks

If a topic is totally new to you, start with MedlinePlus for plain language.

After that, search a platform (a resource that allows you to search multiple textbooks simultaneously).

After platforms, try point-of-care tools.

Follow these with the recommended textbooks not contained in a platform. These are listed out individually simply because there is no easy way to search them simultaneously since they are not on a platform but it is still important to know they are available resources. 

Finally, Springer Link is a publisher with a collection of dentistry books. Some of these are textbook-like and some of them are very focused on a narrow topic for experts making them more difficult to understand. Use your best judgment when selecting from a Springer Link book. Go here last for your EBD Background Question.

• MedlinePlus Use the search box to search pre-vetted trustworthy websites for plain language information.

We recommend using platforms first. Platforms are collections of textbooks that may be searched simultaneously. This function makes them time-saving.

• AccessMedicine An online resource that provides access to more than 60 medical titles, thousands of photos and illustrations, interactive self-assessment, case files, diagnostic tools such as Diagnosaurus ®, a comprehensive search platform,and the ability to download content to a mobile device. Some subjects contained are OB/GYN, psychiatry, nephrology, otolaryngology, psychiatry, dermatology and many others.
• STATRef Searchable database of drug compendia, and medical and dental textbooks.
• DynaMed DynaMed Plus is an evidence-based clinical decision support tool for physicians and other medical professionals for use primarily at the 'point-of-care'. It contains overviews, recommendations, specialty topics, drug information, graphics and images, direct links to article references in full text, and mobile access. It is updated multiple times daily to insure currency. Integrated Micromedex content provides resources to help better inform prescription decisions, medication management strategies and treatment decisions as a result of lab tests in the course of patient care.
• Lexidrug Dentistry Its drug monographs can be searched by keyword. Pills and other pharmaceuticals can be identified by shape, color and markings. Detailed color photographs, drawings, and radiographs are included. The following works and topics can also be browsed: Dental-Office Medical Emergencies, Natural Therapeutics, Clinicians Endodontic Handbook, Oral Soft- and Hard-Tissue Diseases, Manual of Dental Implants, Manual of Clinical Periodontics, Oral Surgery for the General Dentist, and Illustrated Handbook of Clinical Dentistry.

These are listed out individually simply because there is no easy way to search them simultaneously since they are not on a platform but it is still important to know they are available resources. Remember to consider the key part of your question and choose a textbook whose overarching topic encompasses that.

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Research Projects

Research within the School of Dental Medicine encompasses a wide variety of fields within oral health care, helping to translate basic science discoveries into clinical therapies. Use the links below to learn more about current and past projects of faculty, staff, and students. 

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Biological Sciences

Biological Sciences research focuses on how the body, particularly the mouth, fights diseases through innate immune responses. 

**We are currently updating these pages to refresh information. While we work, please visit the Biological Sciences Research and Sponsored Projects page to review our active projects.

Ge Jin, PhD

• Beta-defensins in Immunological Responses and Immunotherapy in Oncogenesis
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Pushpa Pandiyan, PhD

• Mechanism of Immunomodulation during Oropharyngeal Candidiasis
• Modulation of Tumor Necrosis-α during Oropharyngeal Candidiasis

Aaron Weinberg, DMD, PhD

• Oral Cancer and the Discovery of a Novel Biomarker
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Fengchun Ye, PhD

• Role of Angiopoietin-2 in KSHV Induction of Angiogenesis, Inflammation, and Cutaneous KS Lesions
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Chad Zender, MD, FACS

• Comprehensive Head and Neck Database 

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Community Dentistry research focuses on the protection and improvement of oral health in patients and community at-large. 

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Catherine Demko

• MEDTAPP Healthcare Access Initiative
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James Lalumandier, DDS, MPH

• Geriatric Dentistry Mobile Unit Program
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Sena Narendran, PhD

• Post-doctoral Training in General, Pediatric, and Public Health Dentistry and Dental Hygiene
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Suchitra Nelson, PhD

• Family Intervention with Caregivers of Children with Urgent Dental Needs
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Mary Beth Slusar, PhD

• Caregiver Illness Perception and Child's Early Childhood Caries Status

Kristin Victoroff

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Kristin Williams

Comprehensive Care

• Correlation of Primary Implant Stability with Cone Beam Computed Tomography Analysis in a Bovine Mandibular Bone Model
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• Optimization of Insertion Torque for Primary Dental Implant Stability

Endodontics

Anita Aminoshariae, DDS, MS

• Association of Endodontic Conditions with Systemic Medical Disease
• Effect of Time Factor in Crown Placement on Survival of Primary Endodontically Treated: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Thomas Montagnese, DDS

• Efficacy of Buprenorphine on Post-operative Endodontic Analgesia 

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Oral Medicine research focuses on orofacial pain, oral premalignant disorders, interprofessional education outcomes, and markers for response to treatment of mucosal disorders.

Andres Pinto, DMD, MPH

• Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (ONJ) Case Registry
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Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Dale Baur, DDS

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June 12, 2022

Original Article

Pathways to dentistry: Researchers move dental profession forward

Contributions have lasting impact on oral health care.

Editor's note: This is the third article in a series that celebrates the diversity of career paths in dentistry and the Association's efforts in supporting dentists' career choices in the profession.

From examining the connections between oral and overall health to evaluating the behavior of materials used in dentistry, researchers ask the questions and do the work to inform how dentists care for their patients every day.

"Dentistry is an amazing profession that has offered so many of us the opportunity to improve patients' lives. It is critical that we continue to evolve and expand our understanding of the diseases and conditions that affect our patients and continue to work to optimize the treatments that they receive," said Mia Geisinger, D.D.S., professor and director of the Advanced Education Program in Periodontology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry. "My goal in research is always to change the way that we treat patients for the better, and while the pace of scientific discovery may be incremental, we continually strive to improve oral and overall health for all."

The American Dental Association recognizes the importance of research — like Dr. Geisinger's on the impact of periodontal disease and treatment on overall health — to the practice of dentistry. One of its core values is to be a science- and evidence-based organization, a goal that is supported by the ADA Science & Research Institute, which conducts research and produces evidence-based resources for dentists.

"Scientific research is so important to the health and advancement of the dental profession. That's why I'm really proud of the work ADASRI does," said Marcelo Araujo, D.D.S., Ph.D., chief science officer of the ADA and CEO of ADASRI. "At ADASRI, our work runs the gamut of scientific research — everything from basic science, like the creation of novel dental materials, to applied science that tests and refines dental materials, to clinical and translational research that communicates that basic and applied science in a way that is easy to implement chairside. As a whole, the work of ADASRI’s researchers, and really the work of all dental researchers, has a profound impact on improving dentistry."

The ADA also has two scientific journals: The Journal of the American Dental Association and JADA Foundational Science.

"The ADA continues to demonstrate its strong commitment to the health sciences through many avenues, including the dissemination of basic, translational and clinical research through its journals and other media offerings," said Jack L. Ferracane, Ph.D., editor-in-chief of JADA Foundational Science. "It all boils down to creating new and better pathways to oral health, and we all find it exciting and gratifying to play our different roles in the process that links discovery to successful clinical care."

A New Day for Dentistry, a campaign launched by ADA President Cesar R. Sabates, D.D.S., celebrates the ADA’s diverse community of dentists by recognizing their personal differences and the varied career paths they have chosen within the profession.

"Researchers are essential members of the dental workforce," Dr. Sabates said. "Clinicians strive to provide the best care they can to their patients, and researchers provide the evidence they need to make informed decisions. Their work also helps to expand dentistry’s knowledge base, driving innovation and advancement in our profession. The contributions of researchers have a lasting impact on all facets of oral health care."

For dentists who choose to pursue research as part of their career, a natural curiosity is key.

"I was exposed to research and science when I was in high school, and ever since, I was always interested in learning the underlying mechanisms of diseases," said Hatice Hasturk, D.D.S., Ph.D., director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Research and senior member of the staff at the Forsyth Institute. "I believe that without knowing what is really involved in tissues or structures we are working with, we cannot provide an effective and long-lasting solution."

Dr. Hasturk, who won the ADA’s 2020-21 Norton M. Ross Award for Excellence in Clinical Research and serves on the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs, teaches at the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine and Harvard School of Dental Medicine and practices once a week as a staff dentist/periodontist at the Forsyth Faculty Associates Clinic. Her research focuses on periodontology and immunology.

Dr. Hasturk's studies have shown that changing the body's response to infections and diseases can reduce the oral disease it is experiencing, provide better stability and lead the body to produce more beneficial molecules that can help improve its defense system against other infections and diseases.

"As a dentist/periodontist, my goal is to provide the best prevention and best treatment to my patients," Dr. Hasturk said. "As a researcher, this goal drives me to better understand health and disease, not only to improve oral health, but also overall health."

For Rajesh Lalla, B.D.S., Ph.D., professor of oral medicine and associate dean for research at the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, his favorite part of being a researcher is the ability to create new knowledge.

"It is extremely satisfying to be able to go through the process of having an idea, designing a study to test that hypothesis and determining what the truth really is," said Dr. Lalla, who studies the oral side effects of radiation therapy and chemotherapy used in the treatment of cancer.

His research team is working to publish results from a multicenter clinical study that enrolled more than 500 patients undergoing radiation therapy for head and neck cancer.

"One of the novel findings is that the radiation treatment led to a striking increase in gingival recession," said Dr. Lalla, who is the immediate past president of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer — the first dentist to hold the role. "It was known that these patients tend to get cervical caries after radiation therapy, but the reasons were not clear. Our finding indicates that exposure of the cervical areas of teeth due to gingival recession may explain the increased risk for cervical caries."

At the University of Connecticut, Dr. Lalla developed the dental school’s course on evidence-based decision making, which emphasizes the importance of evidence to the practice of dentistry.

"Dentistry is a scientific profession. The care we provide for our patients must be evidence based," said Dr. Lalla, who won the ADA’s 2020 Evidence-Based Dentistry Accomplished Faculty Award. "Research provides that evidence, so research is the very foundation of our profession."

With a background in engineering, Nathaniel Lawson, D.M.D., Ph.D., performs applied dental materials research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry, where he is an associate professor, director of the biomaterials residency program and director of the division of biomaterials. He and his team devise testing equipment and protocols to evaluate dental materials to best predict their clinical performance, and they are perhaps most well known for performing wear testing. His lab is currently testing the wear of new 3D-printed materials being developed for dentures, crowns and occlusal guards.

"There are many different types of dental research. Many dentists may think of the incredible scientific work conducted by basic and translational scientists who are working to develop new treatments, materials and drugs to treat dental and oral conditions," said Dr. Lawson, who won the ADA's 2016 John W. Stanford New Investigator Award. "However, there is still research needed to evaluate the materials that are already in clinical use in order to determine the best uses of these materials. This information can help the clinician better perform work in their office."

Dr. Lawson began conducting research when he was applying to dental school at the University of Alabama. After a brief stint in clinical practice following graduation, his dental school research adviser asked if he would be interested in returning to his alma mater for an academic position performing research and teaching.

"Within a couple years of working in the position, I realized that I really loved what I was doing," Dr. Lawson said. "I really enjoy thinking of clinical problems, performing a study to try to better understand the best clinical treatment, trying what I learned in practice and then sharing that information through teaching."

Dr. Geisinger, too, was initially unsure of her career path and thought she would go into private practice until she began volunteering as a faculty member at a dental school.

"When I thought about the opportunity to make an exponential impact on our profession through education, research and service, I knew that I had to try to make the biggest impact I could on the oral health of patients and communities," she said. "And it is the research part of that mission that allows me to have the widest reach — impacting the global delivery of dental care through incremental discovery."

Dr. Geisinger, who is a member of the ADASRI Board of Directors and secretary-treasurer of the American Academy of Periodontology, is currently involved in a project examining best practices for delivering oral hygiene care to people with dementia in skilled nursing facilities, as well as the impact of periodontal health on the development and progression of dementia.

The research dentists perform has a lasting impact on not only the profession but public health as well.

"Dentists are an integral part of health care, and as an important health care provider, we need to base what we do on science and biology in order to offer evidence-based, scientifically proven and solid approaches to our patients," Dr. Hasturk said. "They are hungry to learn from us to do better at home and in their lives and to be examples to their children and young generations. We can only be better prepared for the future with proper education, and proper education is a result of research."

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• v.15(1); Jan-Mar 2012

Research methodology in Dentistry: Part I – The essentials and relevance of research

Jogikalmat krithikadatta.

Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Mennakshi Ammal Dental College and Hospitals, Maduravoyal, Chennai – 600095, India

The need for scientific evidence should be the basis of clinical practice. The field of restorative dentistry and endodontics is evolving at a rapid pace, with the introduction of several materials, instruments, and equipments. However, there is minimal information of their relevance in clinical practice. On the one hand, material and laboratory research is critical, however; its translation into clinical practice is not being substantiated enough with clinical research. This four part review series focuses on methods to improve evidence-based practice, by improving methods to integrate laboratory and clinical research.

INTRODUCTION

The field of dental research in India has witnessed exponential growth in the last five years.[ 1 ] However, scientific publications in international peer-reviewed journals have been few.[ 2 ] The lacuna of Indian contribution to international scientific literature is probably a skewed understanding of research and its contribution in effecting improved patient care. The primary purpose of research is to produce new knowledge or find new ways of making the existing knowledge available to those who need it. Research is not a separate speciality which is practiced by a few but it is a systematic approach of reasoning, documenting, analysing and reporting unusual clinical observations that we come across in everyday clinical practice. Whether one is a “doer” or a “user” of research, a thorough understanding of the methodology is essential. In addition to individual practitioners, the “users” of research includes 1) professional organizations that set “practice guidelines”;2) policy makers (sometimes called as “decision makers”) and 3) program managers (for example, state or national government managers of dental health programs). While the academicians and research scholars (teaching institutions) have a unique position to be “Doers” of research. The value for research for its own sake is limited, and therefore understanding the essential concepts in Research Methodology is vital in producing dependable knowledge.

The purpose of this review series is to help the reader to organize the thought process when considering research needs and methods. It also aims to sensitize the mind to research avenues that would be beneficial to material and clinical research in particular and improving the quality of clinical care in general. This four-part review series encompasses topics on essentials of research, fundamentals in biostatistics, observational studies, and experimental studies in each part.

Conduct of research: The head start

Every action is first conceived in the mind and later executed. Planning a good research project forms the primary basis of meaningful publication. Certain fundamental requisites are listed in Table 1 . Focus in a particular area of interest is essential to build up a strong forte in academic excellence. Random choice of research projects dilutes the resource contribution in random directions and results in lack of identity of the person or faculty. Generating research hypothesis must aim at answering clinically relevant questions. The rationale for the choice of a particular stream could also result in a new concept of thinking or change the methods of treatment protocols.

Requisites of good research

It is prudent to decide apriori as to whom the results of a particular research question would be useful and will the results be applicable to patients in dental practices in the real world. Conventionally, in-vitro or laboratory research studies have good internal validity but poor external validity which means that the results obtained are only applicable to similar samples of the study. In other words, the results may not transfer to the clinical behaviour of the material. On the other hand, clinical studies have good external validity because they are tested on samples/ subjects that are closely related to the clinical condition and most often representative of all individuals with the condition; however they are more complex since so many other factors may influence the outcome of interest.

To understand validity, let us consider the research question on dentin bonding agents (DBA). In-vitro assessment of dentin bonding agents is usually measured in terms of bond strength and microleakage. In this scenario, all the samples and procedures are standardized to a specific methodology, that is, dentin cylinders 5 mm in height, with 4 mm of composite material, × N force at 0.5 cross-head speed, and so on. The bond strength values obtained can be best extrapolated to a similar set of conditions in the laboratory and may not deliver the same performance clinically to patients. On the contrary, if we conduct a clinical study to evaluate the performance of dentin bonding agents, the methodology would include a randomized controlled trial involving the restoration of non-carious cervical lesions ((NCCL), considered the ideal for bonding agent testing), the clinical evaluation criteria recommended by the United States Public Health System (USPHS), and followed over a period of time. The results of the study can be extrapolated to all similar patients requiring restoration of NCCLs. Hence, the valid method of testing the ultimate performance of DBA is by a clinical trial and not just bond strength testing. However, in-vitro studies provide an insight into which DBA is the best among the available, to be tested clinically. In-vitro studies provide internal validity , that is, they tell us if a particular drug or procedure works, but external validity questions if it is of use to the patient population at large, which can only be determined by clinical trials on patients.

Feasibility in terms of time, cost, samples, and infrastructure are vital to set a logistic time frame for the functioning and completion of the study. Finally, a study that does not adhere to ethical principles both for in-vitro and clinical designs, fails to answer clinically relevant questions. The principles of ethics are not restricted only to the handling of human participants, but also encompass the ethics followed in the methodology and reporting of results. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has comprehensive guidelines for conducting experimental studies in India.[ 3 ]

Clinical epidemiology

The term Epidemiology refers to the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events (including disease), and the application of these methods to the control of diseases and other health problems.[ 4 ] Erroneously in India, this science is often dissociated from dental clinical research and is regarded to be a practice under community dentistry. Hence research methods described under epidemiology have also not been used in answering many of our clinical research questions. David Sackett, in 1969, coined the term clinical epidemiology, which is the, “application, by a physician who provides direct patient care, of epidemiological and biometric methods, to the study of diagnostic and therapeutic processes, in order to effect an improvement in health.”[ 5 ] This concept identifies the clinician as the epidemiologist, which chiefly includes practitioners (general/specialist), students, and academicians, who are constantly involved in patient care. Almost four decades since this concept was introduced, our fraternity is waking up to this approach. It is important to note that knowledge of the disease process and treatment protocols constitute clinical knowledge. This forms only one essential part of clinical epidemiology. In order to understand the involvement of clinicians in clinical research, we need to be aware of certain disease manifestations in the community, with regard to the magnitude of the problem and measures to deliver dentalcare.

Consider this question being asked by the Head of Department of an institution, “What is the best endodontic regime for patients being treated in my department?” Traditionally, this question would be answered by schools of thought, textbook evidence, and findings reported in peer-reviewed literature. In reality, this simple question has the ability to raise meaningful research questions if we could apply this to the measurement iterative loop proposed by Tugwell et al .[ 6 ] [ Figure 1 ]. The measurement iterative loop breaks up the disease cycle into distinct component steps. It is iterative because, each step logically leads to the next, and thus comes back to the first step thus ‘closing’ the loop. Each step in the loop has the capacity to generate several research questions.

The measurement iterative loop

In this loop, the first step is to ascertain the burden of illness. The burden of illness (e.g., patients requiring root canal treatment) could be measured among the patients seeking dental care in the hospital or in a defined population. The former will provide an answer to the rate of occurrence of endodontic disease and the latter addresses the prevalence of endodontic disease, both of which would vary with place and time. The burden of illness could be subdivided into: (a) Unavoidable and (b) avoidable. Avoidable burden of illness comprises of disability, symptoms, and morbidity, for which efficacious caries preventive and intervention methods are present. The unavoidable burden of illness of disability comprises of symptoms and morbidity for which no efficacious prevention or cure exists. Eg if the tooth has been lost then root canal treatment is not possible.The focus on research in this area should be an effort to transfer the burden from unavoidable to avoidable.

Second is to identify and assess the possible cause of the burden of disease. The etiology and risk-factor assessment of a multifactorial disease like pulpal and periapical pathology in itself generates a lot of research avenues. This step also makes use of several traditional study designs to derive clinically significant conclusions. This step identifies the factors against which an intervention can reduce the burden of illness, for example, failure of primary endodontic treatment. To name a few obvious causes, inadequate cleaning and shaping, missed canals, and incomplete obturation. The risk factors in association to this failure could be: Vitality status of the pulp during initial endodontic treatment, amount of remaining tooth structure, and type of tooth.

Defining factors for causation also requires that there should be well-defined, specific, and reproducible definitions for both the disease state and the risk factors. Developing such criteria for defining disease and causative or risk factors contribute to increased diagnostic accuracy .

The third step of the loop is the most significant. Having identified the ‘intervenable’ factors, it is important to study if interventions against them will work. After identifying interventions, in vitro studies are carried out when necessary, and then the successful interventions are tried on humans. The initial trials should be to determine Efficacy . This means that it should be determined whether the intervention works if given in the right dose using the right methods, for the right duration, that is, Can it work in ideal circumstances ?

Once this is achieved, the intervention (preventive and restorative) methods are applied to the community, that is, patients seeking treatment for failed endodontic treatment or among the general population at a risk of developing failure of primary endodontic treatment. This step is Community effectiveness, which measures how well an intervention can work in real life . It assesses the benefit/harm ratio of potentially feasible interventions and estimates the reduction of burden of illness, if the program is successful. Community effectiveness is determined by five factors: (a) Efficacy , (b) Screening and diagnostic accuracy, (c) Evaluation of health care provider compliance, (d) Evaluation of patient compliance , and (e) Evaluation of coverage . To understand this better let us consider the question of treating symptomatic irreversible pulpitis with Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) pulpotomy in Department of Endodontics at a dental college and give hypothetical percentages of success for each factor and compute the community effectiveness.

• Efficacy: Will the current treatment do more good than harm in treating patients who are diagnosed correctly and fully comply with recommendations for treatment?(100%)
• Screening and diagnostic accuracy: Does the department have adequate diagnostic methods to identify patients with irreversible pulpitis and ensure methods to follow-up the disease/recovery status? (90%)
• Evaluation of health provider compliance: Is a postgraduate student competent enough to perform MTA pulpotomy? (80%)
• Evaluation of patient compliance: Will the patient comply with the treatment and follow-up for MTA pulpotomy compared to conventional endodontic treatment? As there are chances that postoperative pain with MTA pulpotomy could be a possibility, the patient suffering from this complication can resort to another dentist for relief. (80%)
• Evaluation of coverage: Is the treatment available to all potential patients who could benefit from the new method? Is there access to a dental college or knowledge of the treatment? (90%)

Now community effectiveness can be computed using the Multiplicative law of combining probabilities (P),[ 7 ] considering the probability of each of these factors

Community Effectiveness = P (Efficacy 100% × diagnostic accuracy 90% × health provider compliance 80% × patient compliance 80% × coverage 90%) = 52%

After determining an effective treatment plan for the community/patients, the efficiency of the same needs to be evaluated. This step determines the relationships between costs and effects of options within and across the program. Cost could be a major deterrent in MTA pulpotomy. This could propel ingenious preparations to match commercially available MTA, or allocate funds to deliver this treatment to indicated patients. This is followed by the synthesis and implementation of MTA pulpotomy as a standard of care for indicated patients with irreversible pulpitis. This is done after integration of the feasibility of community effectiveness and efficiency. Any program implemented needs to be followed up with systematic documentation and monitoring. It should include markers for success and failure on the basis short-term, intermediate, and long-term treatment outcomes.

With success data in hand, the burden of illness should again be re-assessed, to ascertain any modifications required within the existing program.

Era of evidence-based dentistry

Evidence-based practice is defined as, “the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The practice of evidence-based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research.”[ 8 ] Individual clinical expertise is the proficiency and clinical judgment that is often a summation of clinical experience and clinical practice. This systematic clinical research in our field includes both in-vitro and clinical research, with equal importance. The sensible transition to clinical research by making use of the conclusions of in-vitro research will contribute evidence to various steps of the measurement iterative loop. It is often observed that the thrust for clinical research is feeble and as a result there is insufficient evidence from laboratory research translating to clinical practice. The ideal place to enable contribution to the best clinical evidence would undoubtedly be the institutional organization, which has the balance between clinical expertise from the teachers end and the requirement for research projects from the students’ end. The only missing link is a properly planned research , which can be fullfilled by employing the measurement iterativeloop.

The awareness of evidence-based dentistry is growing not only on the research/clinical front, but also from patients seeking quality dental care. Hence, the possibility of a research study being acknowledged in scientific literature is often driven by the relevance of evidence that a particular research study can deliver. There is a certain hierarchy termed as ‘Levels of Evidence,’ purely based on the reliability of information or from evidence derived from a scientific study,.[ 9 ]

There are five levels, and each level has sub-ranks as shown in Figure 2 .[ 7 ]

Levels of evidence

• Meta-Analysis
• Systematic review (SR) of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT)
• Randomized Controlled Trials
• Systematic review of Cohort Studies
• Cohort Studies/Poor quality RCT
• Systematic review of Case-Control Studies
• Case-Control Studies
• In-vitro Studies

Case Series/Cross-sectional studies/Poor quality case control studies

Case Reports/Expert opinion/Literature review.

It must be noted, with caution, that the level of evidence is only a stratification based on the information that is obtained from each method, with minimal bias, and these levels in no way rank the study design. It is logical to perceive that study designs are chosen based on research questions. For example, even though Randomized Clinical Trials provide the best evidence, this study design is not meant to identify risk factors for occurrence of disease (determined by case-control study) or disease occurrence/prognosis (determined by Cohort study). Hence, levels of evidence are a logical ranking for evidence rather than a ranking for study designs.

What is your research question?

With the understanding of the measurement iterative loop and the significance to generate relevant evidence for clinical practice, the research question should aim at focusing on one primary issue at a time. The method to identify and prioritize research questions is given in Figure 3 .

Method used to identify and prioritize research questions

A well-built research question should include four parts, referred to as the PICO format, which includes Patient/Population/Problem, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO).[ 10 ]

Patient/population/problem — Defines the condition of interest. This is usually derived from the patients’ chief complaint in a clinical situation (in particular or on a larger population) or is derived from the problem faced in a particular material research.

Intervention [ or ‘ exposure ’- making it PECO for causation questions ]— It is important to identify what has been planned for the patient or the problem . Depending on the problem, this may include the use of a specific diagnostic test, treatment, medication or the recommendation to the patient, to use a product or procedure. If the problem measures the causation of a particular disease, then the etiological agent is assumed as the intervention.

Comparison — It is an alternative to the intervention under study.

Outcome(s) — This pertains to the result of the study preferably outcomes that can be measured accurately that are important to the patient.

The PICO format can be used to generate a research question for determining the causation of disease, diagnosis of a disease or therapy and prognosis of particular condition/disease. Examples for each are given in Table 2 .

Use of PICO format to generate research questions

Although the PICO format is best applied to intervention studies and experimental designs, research questions for all other study designs can also be formulated using this approach.

Role of study designs

Both in-vitro and clinical study designs for various questions arising from clinical practice or knowledge can be determined by applying various sections of the iterative loop. Depending on the research question, the structure of each study design facilitates the derivation of appropriate answers. Prior to choosing the study design, there has to be a valid research question. The genesis of a research question should primarily focus on answering several aspects of a broader research interest. For example, if the research interest lies in stem cell research, then the best source of stem cells, ideal growth environment for stem cells, potential differentiation of stem cells into tissues, confluence of growth obtained by different processing methods, clinical application of laboratory-derived stem cells, storage of stem cells, potential for malignant transformation of stem cells, and so on, form the several aspects or avenues to generate research questions. The primary effort in research is not to focus on the research question, but to focus on your research interest . on study designs and its relevance in answering specific research question will be dealt with in detail in the subsequent articles of this review series on research methodology.

Role of biostatistics

The Role of Biostatistics is often overlooked and ignored in the current research work in our speciality. Biological systems form a dynamic continuum and variation between the units forming the biological systems (people, teeth, bacteria, etc.) is the norm. On account of this variability within the systems, it is often difficult to differentiate between groups within the system. The science of biostatistics helps us to quantify and evaluate its variability within and between groups that make up the biological systems. Statistics is not absolute; it is a measure of the probabilities of occurrence of an event.

Biostatistics is less mathematics and more a method of determining the relevance of the research findings by application of statistical methods. This retains equal importance in both in-vitro as well as clinical research, because this statistical inference lays a foundation for the evidence deduced from any study. Hence the role of the statistician and the clinical researcher are equivalent in finding answers to any research question. The next part on research methodology focuses on understanding biostatics for dental research.

The research processes both in-vitro and clinical studies can be best summarized by the flow chart in Figure 4 .

Anatomy of a research study

The need for good research is to find the best evidence for clinical practice, for specific problems, and to address methods in reducing the burden of illness on a larger scale. Research studies in Endodontic and Restorative dentistry are two dimensional. The first dimension is the laboratory research, which provides the best evidence on material science and the second dimension is clinical research, which provides the best evidence in dealing with the burden of illness, with efficient clinical practice. This increases the avenues for research studies in several directions. With an increasing requirement to publish, articles with good clinical evidence stand a definite chance to find their place in scientific literature.[ 11 ]

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The author would like to thank Prof. Peter Tugwell, Professor of Medicine University of Ottawa, Canada, Prof. Emeritus. Vic Neufeld, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Canada and Prof. Manjula Datta, Retd Prof & Head of Epidemiology, The Tamilnadu MGR Medical university for having accepted to review the manuscript and for their valuable inputs in the preparation of the same and Chennai Dental Research Foundation, Chennai for their support.

Source of Support: Nil

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

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• Published: 22 September 2023

The importance of meta-research in dentistry

• Rafael Sarkis-Onofre   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1514-7879 1 ,
• Ahmad Sofi-Mahmudi 2 ,
• Livia Puljak 3 &
• Rafael R. Moraes 4  

Evidence-Based Dentistry volume  24 ,  pages 98–99 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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• History of dentistry

The number of articles published yearly in dental science is immense. Scopus data indicate that 22,115 documents with “dentistry” as the subject area were published in 2021 1 , representing increases of 28% and 175% in articles compared with 2011 and 2001, respectively. While the number of studies constantly increases, many challenges remain to be faced relative to the research methods that are used. Reports have highlighted that poor-quality research is a major issue in the biomedical field and in oral health research 2 , 3 . Up to October 2022, the Catalogue of Bias had identified 62 different types of bias in biomedical research 4 making it challenging to plan new studies. New biases and data security issues may continue to arise as an increasing amount of research involves digital sources and artificial intelligence to acquire and use information obtained from patients. Once the studies have been completed, open sharing of research data could enable data verification and reuse. Although calls for open science have intensified in recent years, the majority of authors are still reluctant to share their data, even when they indicate in their article that their data is available on request 5 . These are only some of the issues plaguing the modern research enterprise.

It is of crucial importance for the dental community to understand how dental research is planned, funded, conducted, reported, and disseminated. Moreover, the consequences of research biases, use of open science tools, and impact of dental research on society should be assessed. In such a complex scenario, meta-research studies play a key role.

Meta-research, i.e., research on research or methodological studies, could be considered a new discipline devoted to studying research practices. Results of meta-research studies (MRS) make it possible to identify problems and plan initiatives to qualify and disseminate good scientific practices 6 , 7 . MRS may include mixed research methods and present a variety of frameworks, including different objectives (e.g., assessing bias, methods, reporting practices, test interventions to improve research practices, or summarize knowledge), designs (cross-sectional, longitudinal, prospective, retrospective, or studies of interventions), units of analysis (types of study, analysis, records, or humans), and sampling strategies 8 .

A recent example of the importance of MRS could be illustrated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. While a considerable number of articles were published, MRS emphasized the presence of research problems and the need to interpret study findings cautiously. The problems included redundant, poorly reported, and irreplicable systematic reviews 9 , 10 , 11 and biased publications with the presence of spin and ethical issues 12 , 13 , 14 . It was shown that many researchers did not share their data openly at the beginning of the pandemic although they hurried to post their findings on preprint servers 15 . Cases such as these demonstrated how meta-research could help to improve the applicability of scientific findings during a public health emergency.

MRS studies in dentistry are still scarce. Faggion et al. identified that the majority of the 155 dental MRS published in 5 years focused on general dentistry questions, studied research methods, and the primary studies included in most MRS were randomized trials 16 . To date, few MRS have assessed in vitro studies and we still do not have a proper tool for critically appraising dental laboratory studies. Ioannidis et al. pointed out that many themes could be covered by meta-research, including methods, reporting, reproducibility, evaluation, and incentives 6 . These areas have still not been sufficiently explored in the dental science. This link https://osf.io/72pqg presents examples of how meta-research themes and topics have been investigated in dentistry, in addition to opportunities that are open for exploration. Apparently, we have a long road ahead to attain advancement with MRS in dentistry.

The dental research community needs to pay attention to this matter because meta-research scientists may face several challenges throughout their processes of research. The first challenge to overcome is to acquire sponsorship for MRS, as funding agencies and grant assessors may not be very receptive to meta-research proposals 6 . One reason for this barrier could be that sponsors and assessors assume that MRS do not require specific apparatus or laboratory structure, and consequently, funding may not be necessary. However, computers, software programs, file hosting and other online services are essential for this work, and the team involved in the research should be paid. Furthermore, there is prejudice against MRS, which has been described as not being “real research” or “not even medicine” 17 . Therefore, authors, journals, and editors play an essential role in demonstrating the importance of MRS to sponsors, for the improvement of dental science.

Another challenge is the lack of proper guidance to help researchers to plan and conduct meta-research. One example is the usual arbitrary selection of a relevant period (e.g., number of years) within which studies will be retrieved and data synthesized when evaluating a given subject. In this situation, authors could either conduct searches without time restrictions, use a specific time period (e.g., last 5 years), or two periods (e.g., before and after guideline publication). In this case, the main recommendations are to justify the choice of the period selected and verify whether there is any relevant event (e.g., publication of a guideline or checklist) that could have impact on the selection and results 18 . The time is ripe for the development of guidance on conducting evidence-based meta-research with emphasis on the methodological expectations.

The third challenge is related to the peer-review process. Editors and reviewers may be tempted to classify all meta-research studies as being systematic reviews and encourage authors to use the PRISMA reporting guideline, for instance 19 . However, meta-research is not merely a systematic review, even when systematic searches are conducted, using structured article screening and data extraction processes. A more recent initiative has been to develop a specific reporting guideline for MRS 8 , 20 , but this is also particularly challenging due to the complex and varied nature and possibilities in meta-science.

This editorial emphasizes the contemporary relevance of MRS in dentistry and challenges faced by meta-researchers. Meta-research plays a vital role in the advancement of oral health research, implementation of good research practices, and reduction of research waste. By doing so, MRS may improve the benefits of dental research to society and the value of dental research to people in general. Good MRS practices may lead to better research, which will ultimately enable better health care. Meta-research has been suggested as being our “best chance to defend science and gain public support for research”, thereby helping to antagonize anti-science movements 7 . This is a call to authors, editors, journals, and sponsors: not only do we need more and better MRS in dentistry, but we also need to understand their importance for the future of dental science.

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Rafael Sarkis-Onofre

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Center for Evidence-Based Medicine, Catholic University of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia

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Sarkis-Onofre, R., Sofi-Mahmudi, A., Puljak, L. et al. The importance of meta-research in dentistry. Evid Based Dent 24 , 98–99 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41432-023-00880-w

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Odontogenic Infection as a Complication of Dental Caries: Microbiological and Molecular Aspects - Volume II

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After the success of the first RT "Odontogenic Infection as a Complication of Dental Caries: Microbiological and Molecular Aspects", we are really proud to release this second special collection dedicated to exploring this theme. Despite significant progress in dentistry and laboratory diagnostic methods, there is an urgent need to study the role of microorganisms in the development of dental caries and odontogenic infections. Nowadays, dental caries is one of the most prevalent diseases in humans globally, which is multifactorial, polymicrobial, sugar, and biofilm dependent. However, there is no doubt about the dominant role of the microbial factor in its development. It is known that the cause of odontogenic infections in the soft tissue of the head and neck region can be several pathological processes in the oral cavity through the spread of microorganisms through the destroyed tooth tissue or marginal periodontium into the underlying tissues, as well as during surgical manipulations and trauma. Statistically, odontogenic infections in the soft tissue of the head and neck region most often occur due to the dissemination of pathogens of the necrotized pulp, periodontal pockets in periodontitis, or pericoronitis during the difficult eruption of retained teeth. The purpose of this Research Topic is to highlight the latest achievements in the field of oral microbiology, the role of the microbiome in the development of caries and odontogenic infections, as well as the future challenges faced by dentists at the modern stage of oral infections treatment. This Research Topic is aimed at delineating new vectors in the use of antimicrobials in dentistry and creating a reliable evidence base for their use in the prevention and treatment of caries and its complications, including odontogenic infections. Participation in the Research Topic will be interesting for practicing dentists of therapeutic, surgical, or hygienic and preventive profiles, as well as scientists involved in the study of oral microorganisms, their biological properties, life cycles, and sensitivity to antimicrobial substances. We look forward to your systematic reviews, meta-analyses, original articles, and briefs in the following areas, but not limited to: • Microbiological and molecular aspects of dental caries development; • Microbiological and molecular aspects of the development of an odontogenic infection; • Biological properties of the representatives of the oral microbiome and its role in oral health; • Detection of causative agents and biomarkers of odontogenic infections with a focus on inflammation, oral fluid, saliva, gingival sulcus, pockets, etc. • Peculiarities of the use of antibiotics, antiseptics, and other substances with antimicrobial properties for dental caries and odontogenic infections treatment; • Sensitivity of the main microbial agents of the oral cavity to antimicrobials, prospects for overcoming antimicrobial resistance; • Qualitative and quantitative composition of the microbiome of the oral cavity under the conditions of caries and odontogenic infections; • Change the microbiome and microbial imbalance under conditions of caries and odontogenic infections

Keywords : Dental Caries. Odontogenic Infections, Microbiota, Molecular Microbiology

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