title: Methods of clinical evaluation of dental restorative materials.
abstract: The following review of the literature considers various clinical methods for evaluating dental materials. The first section looks at studies that have considered the general handling properties of dental materials in clinical practice (the pragmatic trial). The second section considers studies that have used retrospective evaluation to arrive at conclusions about the longevity of various dental materials (the observational trial). The third section considers the various methods of assessing the quality of restorations in clinical trials (the explanatory trial).
authors.affiliation: Dental Practice Board, Eastbourne, U.K.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Knibbs
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods; D003738:Dental Cements / Q000592:standards; D003761:Dental Impression Technique; D003764:Dental Materials / Q000592:standards*; D018865:Dental Research / Q000379:methods*; D019232:Dental Restoration Failure; D019554:Dental Restoration Wear; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010781:Photography
chemical_list: D003738:Dental Cements; D003764:Dental Materials