Meta-analysis: Simplified overview for dental clinicians

ABSTRACT With the rapid growth in research, clinicians are witnessing a huge number of transformations in treatment techniques, materials, devices, and technology for the management of dental problems. However, the biggest challenge for clinicians is to determine which among the new products or methods are truly reliable and beneficial for patients. Consulting an expert or reading any random article will not significantly solve this problem. We require a more systematic and robust approach to address this problem. The systematic review and meta-analysis are robust and comprehensive research methods that evaluate multiple research articles both qualitatively and quantitatively. The meta-analysis is the quantitative component of a systematic review, which mathematically combines the results of multiple research articles and provides estimates with greater power and precision. As a clinician, it is essential to understand the basics of meta-analysis to greatly reduce the problem in practicing evidence-based dentistry. This article discusses the basics of meta-analysis with a special focus on summary measures, forest plots, and heterogeneity.