What are the barriers involved in the application of evidence-based dentistry principles?

Source: Barriers involved in the application of evidence-based dentistry principles, Journal of the American Dental Association, Jan. 2020

The authors of the systematic review aimed at investigating the barriers involved in the application of evidence-based dentistry principles, as reported by dentists.

Research has historically shown that dentists’ access to higher-quality knowledge sources is low and the implementation of new scientific advances in daily practice as generally problematic.The challenges involved in adopting and practicing EBD are still substantial.

1. Limited EBD Training or Skills: inability to find scientific documents and inability to appraise or interpret them.
2. Personal Inaccurate Views of EBD: Dentists viewed EBD skeptically; they perceived it as excessively academic, complicated, or as having limited value.
3. Difficulties Inherent in Research and Literature: lack of clarity, referring particularly to the perceived subjectivity of outcome measures, research results, and clinical questions
4. Difficulties Inherent in the Dental Knowledge Field: clinicians tend to attribute more relevance to other information sources, such as their own experience or expertise, their peers’ advice, or more practice-focused sources.
5. Practical Issues: lack of time to experiment with new techniques or attend courses or conduct clinical audits etc.
6. Patients' Attitudes or Conditions: high expectations from the dentist and low compliance from the patient.

The authors synthesized and classified the barriers in 4 categories: self-related, evidence-related, context-related, and patient-related barriers. Shortage of time and financial constraints were the barriers most frequently studied. However, the quantification of these barriers, as well as others, was not possible because of the variability of the results and methodological issues of the included studies.

Reference

Neuppmann Feres, Murilo Fernando et al., Barriers involved in the application of evidence-based dentistry principles. The Journal of the American Dental Association, Volume 151, Issue 1, 16 - 25.e16