title: Informatics systems to assess and apply clinical research on dental restorative materials.
abstract: Dental biomaterials are used clinically for one or more of the following purposes: to restore function, to enhance esthetics, and to prevent or arrest demineralization of tooth structure. Studies of the clinical performance of restorations and prostheses made from these materials have generally focused on quality assessment and survival statistics. Data from these studies should provide probabilities of specific treatment outcomes that are useful for practicing dentists. However, the utility of these data is limited by the lack of national and international standards for assessing these clinical outcomes. Standardized approaches toward clinical informatics and treatment-decision analysis are urgently needed to minimize the variability of clinical outcomes reported in publications associated with direct and indirect restorative materials used for dental restorations and prostheses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental Biomaterials, College of Dentistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0446, USA. kanusavice@dental.ufl.edu
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Anusavice
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003663:Decision Trees; D003764:Dental Materials; D017266:Dental Prosthesis; D018865:Dental Research; D019232:Dental Restoration Failure; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent; D006801:Humans; D007256:Information Systems; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D003764:Dental Materials