OUTCOMES AND COMPARATORS OF INTEREST IN STUDIES ON NON-INVASIVE AND MICRO-INVASIVE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR CARIES LESIONS IN DECIDUOUS MOLARS - META-RESEARCH AND SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS

Non-invasive and micro-invasive management strategies have been proposed for the treatment of non-cavitated and cavitated enamel lesions, up to lesions involving the outer half of dentin, so that minimal intervention techniques can be used both to stop and prevent the evolution of these lesions (Arduim et al., 2023 ; Kongsomjit et al., 2024). Objective: This study aims to evaluate, through two meta-research studies, which outcomes and comparators are being used in studies on non-invasive and micro-invasive treatments of caries lesions in deciduous posterior teeth. Methods: Two meta-research studies will be carried out: (Study 1) Focusing on randomized controlled trials (RCTs); (Study 2) Focusing on systematic reviews (SRs). Two independent examiners in duplicate will carry out the search for articles, as well as data collection. The searches will be carried out in the MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library electronic databases. Studies will be included when they meet the following inclusion criteria: related to non-invasive and micro-invasive treatments of caries lesions in deciduous posterior teeth; be an RCT (Study 1) or an SR (Study 2). Data will be collected and the types of outcomes studied will be grouped. The outcomes and comparators used by the articles will be organized into groups, and then analyzed via social network analysis. The authors will consider enamel caries lesions to be both white spots and cavities in enamel. In addition, lesions involving dentin will be considered when radiographic examination detects the involvement of up to the outer half of dentin. In order to individualize the searches for the different reviews, we used specific PICOS questions that will serve as a basis for the subsequent development of the search strategies. These are Study 1 - In randomized controlled trials (S) on caries lesions in dentin up to the outer half of deciduous molars (P), what outcomes and comparators are being used (O)? Study 2 - In Systematic reviews (S) on caries lesions in dentin up to the outer half of deciduous molars (P), which outcomes and comparators are being used (O)?