Building bridges from research outcomes to clinical practice decisions

Practitioners may face difficulties implementing research results into practice. Seven examples of common knowledge translation barriers for clinicians are presented, and suggestions are offered for building effective communication bridges. Changes in how research results are reported and interpreted across different practice contexts can improve orthodontic care. These include (a) attention to the expected benefit that includes estimates of both likely clinical value and probability of occurrence, (b) cost considerations, (c) generalizability across contexts that require interpretation adjustments, (d) measures of effect size in addition to measures of statistical significance, (e) determination of the largest relative sources of variance in the reported results, (f) estimating probabilities that lead to practice actions, and (g) conversion of research descriptions to values that impact practice decisions. Examples of improved communication relevant to clinicians are provided that can be used to build stronger bridges between orthodontic research and practice. Although advances in orthodontic research rigor have been noted, journal articles would benefit from more clinician-friendly descriptions of results and their impact.