title: A practitioner's guide to developing critical appraisal skills: interventional studies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Randomized controlled clinical trials are considered to provide the highest level of evidence for clinical practice, public health policy and evidence-based systematic reviews. Although all randomized controlled clinical trials share basic design characteristics, to assess the outcome of a particular trial one must carefully evaluate specific details of its design and analysis that might bias the study and influence its results. In this article, the authors review key points that practitioners should consider when assessing randomized controlled clinical trials so they can determine the applicability of study results to clinical practice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dentists encounter a variety of types of evidence when trying to assess the utility of new therapeutic agents and procedures for their clinical practice. This article provides a background to use in evaluating data and selecting studies that provide the most rigorous clinical support for safety and effectiveness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontics and Endodontics, School of Dental Medicine, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, NY, USA. mlbgums@aol.com
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.forename: Bruce Lee
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Pihlstrom
mesh_terms: D035061:Control Groups; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D018865:Dental Research / Q000379:methods*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D012107:Research Design; D058028:Research Report; D035842:Research Subjects; D018401:Sample Size; D013850:Thinking / Q000502:physiology*