The case report in 21st century child dental literature

Authors:

ABSTRACT

Aim

To review recent dental child case reports to determine: 1 the main focus of the paper; 2 perceived contribution to the
dental literature and, 3 involvement of the child. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review.

Methods

Case reports published between
2000 and 2005 were identified using Medline via Ovid and Embase databases. Papers were reviewed to determine: their perceived
value; whether they related to a single case or case series; the main dental condition; how the child was referred to, and inclusion of any
child-centred input within the report. RESULTS AND STATISTICS: 663 case reports, from 82 journal titles, were subject to review. The
majority presented a single patient (82) and discussed a type of intervention or treatment (58). The most common
themes related to oral pathology/medicine (28), and orthodontics (26). Most children were referred to as �patients�
(74) with little use of personalised terms (4). Few reports included any child-centred input or contribution from a proxy
(10 and 2 respectively). Inter- and intra-examiner repeatability for categorisation was excellent. CONCLUSIONS: The
majority of child-related reports described a treatment or intervention which is surprising given the low level of case reports in the
hierarchy of evidence. The child�s perspective in the presenting complaint or outcome needs greater consideration.

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