Search

A systematic review will be conducted with the primary objective of identifying all outcome measurements and definitions reported in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in the highest ranking dental journals (Quartiles: Q1 & Q2) during the last 10 years and involving tooth-supported fixed prosthodontics. Secondary objectives will be to assess their methodological quality by using the Cochrane Collaboration RoB tool (v2.0) and their reporting quality through a standardized 16-item CONSORT assessment tool designed by Loguercio et al. in those studies that reported on its use. The search engines used will be: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CCRCT) from the inception of each database. A search of the nonpeer-reviewed literature will be performed in the Open Grey database. Statistical analysis will be performed with a statistical software program (IBM SPSS Statistics, v27; IBM Corp). Categorical variables will be presented as frequencies by percentages, while quantitative variables will be presented as mean ±standard deviation (SD). Differences will be assessed with the Pearson chi-square test, and the Student t test for independent samples (α=.05). A Shapiro-Wilks test will be applied to evaluate the normality of the sample.