title: INVESTIGATING THE MANAGEMENT OF CARIOUS PRIMARY TEETH IN GENERAL DENTAL PRACTICE: AN OVERVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONDUCT OF THE FICTION TRIAL.
abstract: The management of carious primary teeth is a challenge for patients, parents and clinicians. Most evidence supporting different management strategies originates from a specialist setting and therefore its relevance to the primary care setting is questionable. The UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment (HTA) has commissioned the FiCTION (Filling Children's Teeth: Indicated Or Not?) trial; a multi-centre primary dental care randomised controlled trial (RCT) to determine the most clinically and cost- effective approach to managing caries in the primary dentition in the UK. This large trial began in 2012, is due to be completed in late 2017 and involves 72 practices and 1,124 children initially aged three to seven years with dentine caries, following randomisation to one of three caries management strategies. Clinical, radiographic, quality of life, treatment acceptability and health economics data are collected during the three-year follow up period. This article provides an overview of the development and conduct of FiCTION and discusses some approaches adopted to manage challenges and achieve the patient recruitment target.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Keightley
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maguire
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chadwick
authors.forename: Luke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vale
authors.forename: Tara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Homer
authors.forename: Gail
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Deery
authors.forename: Zoe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Marshman
authors.forename: Vicky
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Innes
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000628:therapy*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005792:General Practice, Dental; D006801:Humans; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012107:Research Design; D013218:State Dentistry; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous; D006113:United Kingdom