ArticleBMJ open2015
Discordance between presumed standard of care and actual clinical practice: the example of rubber dam use during root canal treatment in the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.
Article in BMJ open, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Deep caries removal strategies: Findings from The National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.Journal of the American Dental Association (1939) · 2022Pooled it
- Postoperative pain after dental procedures: The National Dental Practice-Based Research Network observational study using a mobile health platform.Journal of the American Dental Association (1939) · 2026Observational
- Collaboration between The National Dental Practice-Based Research Network and the American Association of Endodontists: Impact on the endodontic literature.Journal of the American Dental Association (1939) · 2026Article
- Factors associated with dental dam use during non-surgical root canal treatment: A national dental PBRN study.Journal of dentistry · 2026Article
- Factors Affecting Root Canal Treatment Case Difficulty, Practitioner Rating of Difficulty and Treatment Complications Among General Dentists and Endodontists: A Prospective Cohort Study From National Dental Practice-Based Research Network PREDICT Project.International endodontic journal · 2025Article
- Classification of postoperative bleeding severity by general dental practitioners in the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network: a survey-based assessment.Quintessence international (Berlin, Germany : 1985) · 2025Article
- Diagnostic approach used by US general dental practitioners following discovery of oral lesions suspicious for malignancy/premalignancy: findings from the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.Quintessence international (Berlin, Germany : 1985) · 2024Article
- Ingestion and surgical retrieval of an endodontic file: a case report.Restorative dentistry & endodontics · 2023Article
- Patients' comfort with and receipt of health risk assessments during routine dental visits: Results from the South Atlantic region of the US National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.Community dentistry and oral epidemiology · 2023Article
- Online Questionnaire-Based Study to Evaluate the Attitudes and Use of Rubber Dental Dams by Saudi Dental Practitioners.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2023Article
- Knowledge, awareness, and perception on root canal treatment among South Indian population - A survey.Journal of advanced pharmaceutical technology & research · 2022Article
- Factors that affect dentists' use of antibiotic prophylaxis: Findings from The National Dental Practice-Based Research Network questionnaire.Journal of the American Dental Association (1939) · 2022Article
- Association between predoctoral evidence-based practice training and later use of peer-reviewed journals: National dental PBRN.Journal of dental education · 2021Article
- Dental practitioners' use of health risk assessments for a variety of health conditions: Results from the South Atlantic region of The National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.Journal of the American Dental Association (1939) · 2021Article
- Prophylactic antibiotic prescribing in dental practice: Findings from a National Dental Practice-Based Research Network questionnaire.Journal of the American Dental Association (1939) · 2020Article
- The Impact of COVID-19 Related Lockdown on Dental Practice in Central Italy-Outcomes of A Survey.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Clinical acceptance of single-unit crowns and its association with impression and tissue displacement techniques: Findings from the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.The Journal of prosthetic dentistry · 2020Article
- Leveraging Electronic Dental Record Data for Clinical Research in the National Dental PBRN Practices.Applied clinical informatics · 2020Article
- Prescription Drug Abuse Among Patients in Rural Dental Practices Reported by Members of the National Dental PBRN.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2020Article
- Laboratory Technician Assessment of the Quality of Single-Unit Crown Preparations and Impressions as Predictors of the Clinical Acceptability of Crowns as Determined by the Treating Dentist: Findings from the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.Journal of prosthodontics : official journal of the American College of Prosthodontists · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesUse of a rubber dam during root canal treatment is considered the standard of care because it enhances patient safety and optimises the odds of successful treatment. Nonetheless, not all dentists use a rubber dam, creating disconnect between presumed standard of care and what is actually done in clinical practice. Little is known about dentists' attitudes towards use of the rubber dam in their practices. The objectives were to: (1) quantify these attitudes and (2) test the hypothesis that specific attitudes are significantly associated with rubber dam use.
settingNational Dental Practice-Based Research Network (NationalDentalPBRN.org).
participants1490 network dentists. OUTCOME MEASURES: Dentists completed a questionnaire about their attitudes towards rubber dam use during root canal treatment. Three attitude scales comprised 33 items that used a 5-point ordinal scale to measure beliefs about effectiveness, inconvenience, ease of placement, comparison to other isolation techniques and patient factors. Factor analysis, cluster analysis and multivariable logistic regression analysed the relationship between attitudes and rubber dam use.
resultsAll items had responses at each point on the 5-point scale, with an overall pattern of substantial variation across dentists. Five attitudinal factors (rubber dam effectiveness; inconvenient/time-consuming; ease of placement; effectiveness compared to Isolite; patient factors) and 4 clusters of practitioners were identified. Each factor and cluster was independently and strongly associated with rubber dam use.
conclusionsGeneral dentists have substantial variation in attitudes about rubber dam use. Beliefs that rubber dam use is not effective, inconvenient, time-consuming, not easy to place or affected by patient factors, were independently and significantly associated with lower rubber dam use. These attitudes explain why there is substantial discordance between presumed standard of care and actual practice.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.