title: Conflict of interest reporting in dentistry randomized controlled trials: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Conflict of interest (COI) reporting in the medical field has been a concern for a number of years. As the impact of industry on medical research increases, the need for transparency in these relationships increases. In this present study we aim to assess current practices and associations for COI reporting in the field of dentistry.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a systematic review of conflict of interest reporting for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in 6 journals of Dentistry published between Jan 2011 and Mar 2012. We extracted study characteristics in duplicate and used descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests to assess associations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 1755 studies across seven journals, we identified 66 eligible RCTs. Many included studies were conducted in Europe (39%), with an average sample size of 355. A total of 76% of studies mentioned the presence or absence of potential COI. No correlation between the direction of results and whether a COI was declared was found (p = 0.328), nor was there an association between funding source and whether COI was discussed (p = 0.120). The journal in which the article was published did however have a correlation as to whether COI was discussed (p ≤ 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RCTs published in the field of dental research inconsistently report the presence or absence of a conflict of interest. Dental journals should standardize conflict of interest reporting to aid dental researchers in understanding when a conflict of interest exists, and to provide transparency to readers and patients alike.
authors.affiliation: Umm Alqura University, Faculty of Dentistry, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: mmbeyari@uqu.edu.sa.
authors.forename: Mohammed M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Beyari
authors.affiliation: Global Research Solutions Inc., Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Alisha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hak
authors.affiliation: Global Research Solutions Inc., Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Chuan Silvia
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Umm Alqura University, Faculty of Dentistry, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Hanadi A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Lamfon
mesh_terms: D016265:Conflict of Interest; D018865:Dental Research; D004990:Ethics, Dental; D032984:Ethics, Research; D006801:Humans; D010506:Periodicals as Topic; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012109:Research Support as Topic
keywords: Conflict; Dentistry; Dentition; Randomized controlled trial