Alexandria, VA – The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) and the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) have announced the publication of revised guidelines for adequately reporting findings from oral health research. Overviews and explanations of the new guidelines, called the “OHStat Guidelines,” will be published in an upcoming issue of Journal of Dental Research as part of a collaborative effort with The Angle Orthodontics, Journal of Endodontics, Journal of the American Dental Association, and Journal of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery. Additionally, a companion paper will be published in an upcoming issue of JDR Clinical & Translational Research. Adequate and transparent reporting are necessary for critically appraising published research. Yet, ample evidence suggests that the design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of oral health research could be greatly improved. Accordingly, the Task Force on Design and Analysis in Oral Health Research—statisticians and trialists from academia and industry—identified the minimum information needed to report and evaluate observational studies and clinical trials in oral health: the OHStat Guidelines. Drafts were circulated to the editors of 85 oral health journals and to Task Force members and sponsors and discussed at a December 2020 workshop attended by 49 researchers.
The guidelines were subsequently revised by the Task Force’s writing group. The guidelines draw heavily from the CONSORT, STROBE, and CONSORT harms guidelines and incorporate the SAMPL guidelines for reporting statistics, the CLIP principles for documenting images, and the GRADE indicating the quality of evidence. The guidelines also recommend reporting estimates in clinically meaningful units using confidence intervals, rather than relying on P values. In addition, OHStat introduces 7 new guidelines that concern the text itself, such as checking the congruence between abstract and text, structuring the discussion, and listing conclusions to make them more specific.
"These papers represent an important milestone in improving the standards of excellence in dental, oral, and craniofacial research,” said JDR Editor-in-Chief Nick Jakubovics. “As such, it is appropriate that their publication is being coordinated across several key journals in the field."
On July 12, Jakubovics will host a live informational webinar, “OHStat: Introducing New Statistical Guidelines for Oral Health Research,” which will be broadcast in the IADR Webinar & CE On Demand Library at 1 p.m. EDT (UTC-4).
OHStat does not replace other reporting guidelines, it incorporates those most relevant to dental research into a single document. Manuscripts using the OHStat guidelines will provide more information specific to oral health research.
About the Journal of Dental Research
The IADR/AADOCR Journal of Dental Research (JDR) is a multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the dissemination of new knowledge in all sciences relevant to dentistry and the oral cavity and associated structures in health and disease. The JDR Editor-in-Chief is Nicholas Jakubovics, Newcastle University, England. Follow the JDR on Twitter at @JDentRes.
About the JDR Clinical & Translational Research
The JDR Clinical & Translational Research (JDR CTR) is a peer-reviewed, quarterly journal that encompasses all areas of clinical and translational research in the dental, oral, and craniofacial sciences. Launched by IADR and AADOCR, JDR CTR provides a resource for clinicians, scientists, academics, researchers, and policy makers across the entire spectrum of the dental community. Follow JDR CTR on Twitter @JDRClinTransRes.
About IADR
The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research for health and well-being worldwide. IADR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. Learn more at www.iadr.org.
About AADOCR
The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research to advance health and well-being. AADOCR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. AADOCR is the largest division of IADR. Learn more at www.aadocr.org.