Page 9 - CEREC Q3 | 2014
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the scientific evidence necessary for
clinical decisions.
A very common approach to solving
this dilemma is to seek out expert
opinions. Expert opinions are based
on the expert’s extensive knowledge
of the scientific evidence and aware-
ness of the respective area. However,
it is filtered only by the expert’s judg-
ment, making it prone to significant
bias. Expert opinions are obviously self-
serving for the experts. But this does
not necessarily discount the value of the
opinions, as long as the potential bias is
recognized as a potential influencer in
the opinion. This is where Conflict of
Interest statements become important,
as this is how experts make known the
potential causes for their bias. And, as
the ADA policy statement indicates,
the consensus opinion of a number of
experts can be useful if there is a lack of
scientific evidence.
3
Thoughtful clinicians will recog-
nize EBD as an obvious common-sense
approach to dental practice. Clinicians
need the best available evidence, not
just any available evidence. It is not just
selecting studies that support a partic-
ular point of view, but also studies with
opposing findings, and attempting to
explain the different outcomes. One of
the foundations of a successful dental
practice is predictable clinical results
for patient treatment.
The challenge for clinicians is to
provide the best care for their patients.
However, to provide the best care, one
must have the best evidence, which is
most predictable of the clinical outcome.
But it also requires thoughtful consider-
ation of clinical experience and astute
clinical judgment with an appreciation
of the patient’s desires.
For questions and more information,
Dr. Fasbinder can be reached at
REFERENCES
1 ADA policy statement on evidence-based dentistry.
Available at:
/
statements/evidencebased.asp. Accessed April 2014.
2 Iqbal A and Glenn AM. General dental practitioners’
knowledge of and attitudes towards evidence-based
practice.
British Dent J
2002 193(10):587-591
3 Wittneben JG, Wright RF, Weber HP, Gallucci GO.
A systematic review of the clinical performance
of CAD/CAM single tooth restorations.
Int j Prosthodont
2009;22:466-471.
