Objective: To evaluate the quality of orthodontic clinical trials for 10 years Chinese major dental journals.
Methods: We hand searched 4 Chinese major dental journals from 1999 to 2008 and retrieved 494 articles. Data was extracted and methodological quality of eligible trials was assessed using the scale made by CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) group including study design, randomizing, allocation concealment, blinding, prospective or retrospective and sample size calculating et al.
Results: Only 26.1% orthodontic clinical trials are prospective, and 3.8% are randomized controlled trials(RCT). For the randomized controlled clinical trials, most are not clearly stated in the method portion for allocation concealment, binding and sample size calculating.
Conclusion: The quality of Chinese orthodontic clinical trials is generally poor. Important data was often not reported in the papers to allow quality assessment. The quality of orthodontic clinical trials should be improved in both study designing and article writing.