Randomized controlled studies

For some decades randomized controlled studies (RCTs) have been the gold standard for evaluating therapy effects in medicine. This kind of studies give the most concise and reliable answer for clinical questions. Unfortunately, dentistry lags behind in that respect, and in orthodontics there are still many conservative colleagues who debate the need for such high-standard studies. As in the European Journal of Orthodontics many of the old arguments against RCTs in orthodontics were repeated in late 2015, I wrote a critical letter to the editor. For copyright reasons this letter cannot be downloaded as a PDF document.

European Journal of Orthodontics, March 2016. Electronic publication ahead of print.