Methods, transparency and reporting of clinical trials in orthodontics and periodontics
Open accessAbstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the methods, reporting and transparency of clinical trials in orthodontics and compare them to the field of periodontics, as a standard within dentistry. Design/setting: Cross-sectional bibliographic study Methods: A total of 300 trials published in 2017–2018 and evenly distributed in orthodontics and periodontics were selected, assessed and analysed statistically to explore key aspects of the conduct and reporting of orthodontic clinical trials compared to trials in periodontics. Results: Several aspects are often neglected in orthodontic and periodontic trials and could be improved upon, including use of statistical expertise (22.3% of assessed trials), blinding of outcome assessors (62.3%), prospective trial registration (12.0%), adequate sample size calculation (35.7%), adherence to CONSORT (14.3%) and open data sharing (4.3%). The prevalence of statistically significant findings among orthodontic and periodontic trials was 62.3%, which was significantly associated with several methodological traits like statistician involvement (odds ratio [OR] = 0.5; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.3–0.9), blind outcome assessor (OR = 0.5; 95% CI = 0.2–1.0), lack of prospective trial registration (OR = 2.8; 95% CI = 1.3–5.9) and non-adherence to CONSORT (OR = 4.5; 95% CI = 1.3–15.8). Conclusions: Although trials in orthodontics seem to be significantly worse compared to periodontics in aspects like trial registration, adherence to CONSORT and declaration of competing interests or financial support, their methods do seem to have improved considerably in recent years.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The findings align with previous biomedical and dental research, which reported the presence of more articles with statement of conflict of interest and funding than data and code sharing and protocol registration.
“Our findings align with previous biomedical and dental research, which reported the presence of more articles with statement of conflict of interest and funding than data and code sharing and protocol registration [27–30].”
From Assessing transparency practices in dental randomized controlled trials (2024) · cites this paper as [30]
Data and code sharing has been the least reported aspect in many studies.
“and data and code sharing has been the least reported aspect in many studies [25–30, 41].”
From Assessing transparency practices in dental randomized controlled trials (2024) · cites this paper as [30]
Cites
Why Most Published Research Findings Are False
Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2005) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124 · Cited by 10,505 · see citing works
Adjusting for multiple testing—when and how?
Bender, R., & Lange, S. (2001) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/s0895-4356(00)00314-0 · Cited by 3,060 · see citing works
Promoting an open research culture
Nosek, B. A., Alter, G., Banks, G. C., Borsboom, D., Bowman, S. D., Breckler, S. J., Buck, S., Chambers, C. D., Chin, G., Christensen, G., et al. (2015) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aab2374 · Cited by 2,708 · see citing works
Meta-analyses involving cross-over trials: methodological issues
Elbourne, D. R., Altman, D. G., Higgins, J. P., Curtin, F., Worthington, H. V., & Vail, A. (2002) · International Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ije/31.1.140 · Cited by 2,305 · see citing works
Investigating and dealing with publication and other biases in meta-analysis
Sterne, J. A. C., Egger, M., & Smith, G. D. (2001) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.323.7304.101 · Cited by 2,225 · see citing works
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
Lyons, R. (2006) · Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/pnp.208 · Cited by 1,907 · see citing works
Camerer, C. F., Dreber, A., Holzmeister, F., Ho, T.-H., Huber, J., Johannesson, M., Kirchler, M., Nave, G., Nosek, B. A., Pfeiffer, T., et al. (2018) · Nature Human Behaviour · doi:10.1038/s41562-018-0399-z · Cited by 1,521 · see citing works
Savović, J., Jones, H. E., Altman, D. G., Harris, R. J., Jüni, P., Pildal, J., Als-Nielsen, B., Balk, E. M., Gluud, C., Gluud, L. L., et al. (2012) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-157-6-201209180-00537 · Cited by 1,049 · see citing works
Comparison of Evidence of Treatment Effects in Randomized and Nonrandomized Studies
Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2001) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.286.7.821 · Cited by 919 · see citing works
Sharing Detailed Research Data Is Associated with Increased Citation Rate
Piwowar, H. A., Day, R. S., & Fridsma, D. B. (2007) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000308 · Cited by 881 · see citing works
Clinical trial registration: a statement from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors
De Angelis, C., Drazen, J. M., Frizelle, F. A., Haug, C., Hoey, J., Horton, R., Kotzin, S., Laine, C., Marusic, A., Overbeke, A. J. P., et al. (2004) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(04)17034-7 · Cited by 408 · see citing works
Design, analysis and presentation of factorial randomised controlled trials
Montgomery, A. A., Peters, T. J., & Little, P. S. (2003) · BMC Medical Research Methodology · doi:10.1186/1471-2288-3-26 · Cited by 320 · see citing works
Rothman, K. J. (1978) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm197812142992410 · Cited by 281 · see citing works
CONSORT 2010 statement: extension checklist for reporting within person randomised trials
Pandis, N., Chung, B. T., Scherer, R. W., Elbourne, D. R., & Altman, D. G. (2017) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.j2835 · Cited by 262 · see citing works
Split-mouth designs in orthodontics: an overview with applications to orthodontic clinical trials
Pandis, N., Walsh, T., Polychronopoulou, A., Katsaros, C., & Eliades, T. (2013) · European Journal of Orthodontics · doi:10.1093/ejo/cjs108 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Self-citationReported methodological quality of split‐mouth studies
Lesaffre, E. M. E. H., García‐Zattera, M. J., Redmond, C. K., Huber, H. M., & Needleman, I. G. (2007) · Journal Of Clinical Periodontology · doi:10.1111/j.1600-051x.2007.01118.x · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Basic study design influences the results of orthodontic clinical investigations
Papageorgiou, S. N., Xavier, G. M., & Cobourne, M. T. (2015) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2015.03.008 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Self-citationWhen are clinical trials registered? An analysis of prospective versus retrospective registration
Boughton, S. L., & Patel, J. (2016) · Trials · doi:10.1186/s13063-016-1310-8 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
P-Values and Confidence Intervals: Two Sides of the Same Unsatisfactory Coin
Feinstein, A. R. (1998) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/s0895-4356(97)00295-3 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
An assessment of quality characteristics of randomised control trials published in dental journals
Pandis, N., Polychronopoulou, A., & Eliades, T. (2010) · Journal of Dentistry · doi:10.1016/j.jdent.2010.05.014 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Self-citationPanagiotou, O. A., Contopoulos-Ioannidis, D. G., & Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2013) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.f707 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Quality of reporting randomised clinical trials in dental and medical research
Sjögren, P., & Halling, A. (2002) · BDJ · doi:10.1038/sj.bdj.4801304 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Evaluation of methodology and quality characteristics of systematic reviews in orthodontics
Papageorgiou, S. N., Papadopoulos, M. A. A. P., & Athanasiou, A. E. (2011) · Orthodontics and Craniofacial Research · doi:10.1111/j.1601-6343.2011.01522.x · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Self-citationAre clustering effects accounted for in statistical analysis in leading dental specialty journals?
Fleming, P. S., Koletsi, D., Polychronopoulou, A., Eliades, T., & Pandis, N. (2012) · Journal of Dentistry · doi:10.1016/j.jdent.2012.11.012 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Self-citationPapageorgiou, S. N., Papadopoulos, M. A. A. P., & Athanasiou, A. E. (2013) · European Journal of Orthodontics · doi:10.1093/ejo/cjt008 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Self-citationPapageorgiou, S. N., Kloukos, D., Petridis, H. P., & Pandis, N. (2015) · Journal of Dentistry · doi:10.1016/j.jdent.2015.08.005 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Self-citationData sharing in orthodontic research
Papageorgiou, S. N., & Cobourne, M. T. (2018) · Journal of Orthodontics · doi:10.1080/14653125.2018.1440792 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Self-citationPapageorgiou, S. N., Xavier, G. M., Cobourne, M. T., & Eliades, T. (2018) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2018.04.017 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Self-citationPandis, N., Polychronopoulou, A., Madianos, P., Makou, M., & Eliades, T. (2011) · Journal of Evidence Based Dental Practice · doi:10.1016/j.jebdp.2010.11.026 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Self-citationPublication bias in five dental implant journals: an observation from 2005 to 2009.
Yuan, J. C., Shyamsunder, N., Barao, V. A. R., Lee, D. J., & Sukotjo, C. (2011) · PubMed · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Leyrat, C., Caille, A., Eldridge, S., Kerry, S., Dechartres, A., & Giraudeau, B. (2019) · International Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ije/dyy229 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Koletsi, D., Pandis, N., Polychronopoulou, A., & Eliades, T. (2012) · Journal of Evidence Based Dental Practice · doi:10.1016/j.jebdp.2012.05.002 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Self-citationPapageorgiou, S. N., Antonoglou, G. N., Sándor, G. K. B., & Eliades, T. (2017) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0182785 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Self-citationOn the sample size of clinical trials – revisited
Papageorgiou, S. N. (2018) · Journal of Orthodontics · doi:10.1080/14653125.2018.1545176 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 35 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Papageorgiou, S. N., Koletsi, D., Iliadi, A., Peltomäki, T., & Eliades, T. (2019) · European Journal of Orthodontics · doi:10.1093/ejo/cjz094 · Cited by 238 · see citing works
Self-citationApplications of nano-materials in diverse dentistry regimes
Foong, L. K., Foroughi, M. M., Mirhosseini, A. F., Safaei, M., Jahani, S., Mostafavi, M., Ebrahimpoor, N., Sharifi, M., Varma, R. S., & Khatami, M. (2020) · RSC Advances · doi:10.1039/d0ra00762e · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Hamilton, D. G., Hong, K., Fraser, H., Rowhani-Farid, A., Fidler, F., & Page, M. J. (2023) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj-2023-075767 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Papageorgiou, S. N., Antonoglou, G. N., Michelogiannakis, D., Kakali, L., Eliades, T., & Madianos, P. (2022) · Journal of Clinical Periodontology · doi:10.1111/jcpe.13529 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Self-citationCONSORT endorsement improves the quality of reports of randomized clinical trials in dentistry
Sarkis-Onofre, R., Poletto-Neto, V., Cenci, M. S., Moher, D., & Pereira-Cenci, T. (2020) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2020.01.020 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Dental Research Waste in Design, Analysis, and Reporting: A Scoping Review
Pandis, N., Fleming, P. S., Katsaros, C., & Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2021) · Journal of Dental Research · doi:10.1177/0022034520962751 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Status, use and impact of sharing individual participant data from clinical trials: a scoping review
Ohmann, C., Moher, D., Siebert, M., Motschall, E., & Naudet, F. (2021) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049228 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Guo, F., Fang, X., Li, C., Qin, D., Hua, F., & He, H. (2021) · European Journal of Orthodontics · doi:10.1093/ejo/cjab044 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Kyburz, S. K., Eliades, T., & Papageorgiou, S. N. (2019) · Progress in Orthodontics · doi:10.1186/s40510-019-0286-9 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Self-citationInauen, D., Papadopoulou, A. K., Eliades, T., & Papageorgiou, S. N. (2023) · Clinical Oral Investigations · doi:10.1007/s00784-023-04931-5 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Self-citationHussain, U., Alam, S., Rehman, K., Antonoglou, G. N., & Papageorgiou, S. N. (2023) · European Journal of Orthodontics · doi:10.1093/ejo/cjac044 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Self-citationPapageorgiou, S. N., Koletsi, D., & Eliades, T. (2019) · Journal of Orthodontics · doi:10.1177/1465312519880558 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Self-citationTransparency in clinical trials: Adding value to paediatric dental research
Cenci, M. S., Franco, M. C., Raggio, D. P., Moher, D., & Pereira‐Cenci, T. (2020) · International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry · doi:10.1111/ipd.12769 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
The reporting quality of split-mouth trials in orthodontics according to CONSORT guidelines: 2015–19
Qin, D., Hua, F., Liang, S., Worthington, H. V., & He, H. (2020) · European Journal of Orthodontics · doi:10.1093/ejo/cjaa085 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Research transparency in dental research: A programmatic analysis
Raittio, E., Sofi‐Mahmudi, A., & Uribe, S. E. (2023) · European Journal of Oral Sciences · doi:10.1111/eos.12908 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Tzanetakis, G. N., & Koletsi, D. (2021) · International Endodontic Journal · doi:10.1111/iej.13573 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Duration of tooth alignment with fixed appliances: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Wazwaz, F., Seehra, J., Carpenter, G. H., Ireland, A. J., Papageorgiou, S. N., & Cobourne, M. T. (2021) · American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics · doi:10.1016/j.ajodo.2021.06.016 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Self-citationAntonoglou, G. N., Papageorgiou, S. N., de Albornoz, A. C., Payer, M., & Stavropoulos, A. (2025) · Journal Of Clinical Periodontology · doi:10.1111/jcpe.70021 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Self-citationDuration of canine retraction with fixed appliances: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Wazwaz, F., Seehra, J., Carpenter, G. H., Papageorgiou, S. N., & Cobourne, M. T. (2022) · American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics · doi:10.1016/j.ajodo.2022.08.009 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Self-citationData sharing and transparency indicators in published RCTs in Oral Health between 2017 and 2023
Mikelis, F., Karamalaki, D., Mikeli, A., Tzanetakis, G. N., & Koletsi, D. (2024) · Journal of Dentistry · doi:10.1016/j.jdent.2024.105263 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Enhancing the quality of reporting of orthodontic clinical research
Qin, D., He, H., Tu, Y., & Hua, F. (2024) · Seminars in Orthodontics · doi:10.1053/j.sodo.2024.01.010 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Schueller, S., Mikelis, F., Eliades, T., & Koletsi, D. (2024) · European Journal of Orthodontics · doi:10.1093/ejo/cjae064 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Self-citationBachelet, V. C., Carrasco, V. A., Bravo‐Córdova, F., Díaz, R. A., Lizana, F. J., Meza‐Ducaud, N., Hernandez, H. P., Uribe, F. A., Vergara, A. F., Julio Villanueva, M., et al. (2020) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-036148 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
How well do orthodontic RCTs comply with CONSORT guidelines?
Mobarak, D., Harrison, J. E., & Spencer, S. (2023) · European Journal of Orthodontics · doi:10.1093/ejo/cjad007 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Mheissen, S., Khan, H., Almuzian, M., Alzoubi, E. E., & Pandis, N. (2021) · European Journal of Orthodontics · doi:10.1093/ejo/cjab069 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Alharbi, F., Gufran, K., Ahmed, M. M., Alsakr, A., & Almutairi, A. (2023) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare11243180 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Assessing transparency practices in dental randomized controlled trials
Prado, M. C., Dotto, L., Agostini, B., & Sarkis-Onofre, R. (2024) · BMC Medical Research Methodology · doi:10.1186/s12874-024-02316-0 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“Our findings align with previous biomedical and dental research, which reported the presence of more articles with statement of conflict of interest and funding than data and code sharing and protocol registration [27–30].”
ResultComparative assessment of Cochrane’s ROB and ROB2 in dentistry trials: a meta-research study
Viana, J., Machado, V., Proença, L., Chambrone, L., Mendes, J. J., & Botelho, J. (2025) · Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1186/s13643-025-02901-4 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Hamilton, D. G., Hong, K., Fraser, H. S., Rowhani-Farid, A., Fidler, F. M., & Page, M. J. (2023) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2023.03.22.23287607 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Heuzeroth, G., Kaufmann, M. E., Herter‐Aeberli, I., Schlagenauf, U., Liu, C. C., Papageorgiou, S. N., & Schmidlin, P. R. (2025) · Clinical Oral Investigations · doi:10.1007/s00784-024-06122-2 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Self-citationZaki, M., O’Sullivan, L., Devane, D., Segurado, R., & McAuliffe, É. (2022) · Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications · doi:10.1016/j.conctc.2022.100897 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Baxmann, M., Zsoldos, M., & Kárpáti, K. (2025) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm14248907 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Bachelet, V. C., Navarrete, M. S., Barrera-Riquelme, C., Carrasco, V. A., Dallaserra, M., Díaz, R., Ibarra, Á. A., Lizana, F. J., Meza-Ducaud, N., Saavedra, M. G., et al. (2021) · BMC Medical Research Methodology · doi:10.1186/s12874-021-01337-3 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
An Evidence Base of Treatment Outcome for Class II Malocclusion
Papageorgiou, S. N. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-57530-3_3 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citationTariq, S. F., Mehdi, M. A. A., Zahra, S., Khan, T., Farid, H., & Azeem, S. (2022) · Pakistan Journal of Medical and Health Sciences · doi:10.53350/pjmhs20221611868 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Dentifrices. Part 2: the evidence behind their formulation
Valkenburg, C., van der Weijden, G. A., & Slot, D. E. (2024) · Dental Update · doi:10.12968/denu.2024.51.3.171 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Mheissen, S., Khan, H., Seehra, J., & Pandis, N. (2022) · Journal of Dentistry · doi:10.1016/j.jdent.2022.104182 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Quality of Abstracts Reporting in Periodontal Randomized Controlled Trials: A Descriptive Analysis
Alharbi, F., Gufran, K., Ahmed, M. M., Alghabban, R. O., Almohammadi, M., & Almutairi, A. (2024) · Journal of Pharmacy And Bioallied Sciences · doi:10.4103/jpbs.jpbs_761_24
EVIDENCE-BASED PERIODONTOLOGY: ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION
Kohl, C. B. S., & Faggion, C. M. (2026) · Journal of Evidence Based Dental Practice · doi:10.1016/j.jebdp.2026.102234
- Authors
- Papageorgiou, S. N., Antonoglou, G. N., Martin, C., & Eliades, T.
- Affiliations
- University of Zurich (CH)
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid (ES)
- BIOCRAN (Craniofacial Biology: Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics) Research Group, Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University Complutense, Madrid, Spain
- Corresponding author
- Papageorgiou, Spyridon N
- Venue
- Journal of Orthodontics
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2019-05-08
- Volume
- 46
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 101-109
- ISSN
- 1465-3125 (ISSN-L)
- 1465-3133
- OpenAlex
- W2944758021
- Cited by
- 40
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 4
- FWCI
- 3.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.zora.uzh.ch
- Locations
- Journal of Orthodontics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
- Health Sciences › Dentistry › Orthodontics › Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods in Clinical Trials
- Keywords
- trial reporting quality, orthodontics, periodontics, clinical trial registration, sample size determination, statistical expertise, conflict of interest disclosure, open data sharing, methodological quality
- MeSH terms
- Clinical Trials as Topic, Cross-Sectional Studies, Orthodontics, Periodontics, Prospective Studies, Odds Ratio
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review