EVIDENCE-BASED PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY: THE FIRST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF TRANSFORMATION AND THE NEXT

Over the past quarter-century, pediatric dentistry has shifted from an expert-opinion-driven craft-often extrapolated from adult dental care, to become a discipline anchored in rigorous, child-specific evidence. This transformation reflects the maturation of evidence-based dentistry (EBD): integrating the best available research with clinical expertise and the values and preferences of children and their families. As we celebrate the Journal of Evidence-Based Dental Practice at 25 years of age, this article charts some milestones in pediatric EBD that show how clinical practice has led to scientific enquiry, research investigations and widespread changes in practice. The examples used are the Hall Technique, Atraumatic Restorative Treatment and pulp canal obliteration in dental trauma management. A pathway to improve research impact is proposed, stretching from ensuring research relevance and methodological rigor through to talking and listening to those who are stakeholders, planning implementation of findings, using core- and patient relevant- outcome sets, public communication and open science. Change does not have to be global to be important: locally tailored, context-aware research and its implementation can improve children's oral healthcare, reduce inequalities and deliver value.