Quality assessment of randomized control trials in dental research I. Methods.

The criteria and scoring method for a system to evaluate the quality of randomized control trials (RCTs) in dental research based on published reports is presented. This system is based on one devised for evaluation of RCTs in medicine. Items assessed in this system include randomization and blinding procedures, subject selection criteria, treatment protocols, and statistical analyses. Assessing the quality of RCTs can contribute to improved study design, implementation and reporting by investigators, and evaluation of reports by referees and editors of scientific journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]