Quality, Integrity, and Open Science Practices in Research on Caries Lesion Management in Children and Adolescents: A Meta-Research Study

• Grant number: 24/21047-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Dentistry - Pediatric Dentistry
• Principal Investigator: Daniela Prócida Raggio
• Grantee: Lívia da Rosa Oliveira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia (FO). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Systematic reviews in the health field compile, analyze and synthesize evidence on specific issues, minimizing researcher bias. Meta-analyses, quantitative statistical methods that resolve contradictions between studies, are associated with systematic reviews to support decisions on health interventions, reducing distortions and optimizing data. Once seen at the top of the evidence pyramid, these methodologies are now seen as analytical tools for other studies. The proper conduct of a systematic review requires the use of the Cochrane Handbook, prospective registration in PROSPERO and following PRISMA guidelines, ensuring transparency and reliability.Tooth decay, which is prevalent globally, seriously affects children's oral health, as well as social and economic aspects. There are various strategies for managing carious lesions, with non-invasive, micro-invasive, invasive and mixed treatments, and professionals need to base their decisions on well-conducted studies, highlighting systematic reviews for their ability to provide reliable conclusions.Thus, SPIN, defined as the practice of biased reporting that distorts the interpretation of results, is still common in various areas of health, including pediatric dentistry. Even with efforts to reduce bias through tools such as PROSPERO and PRISMA, the interpretation of findings from systematic reviews can be problematic, and identifying this bias requires a clear classification scheme.This study aims to assess the occurrence of SPIN and identify the nature of this bias in systematic reviews on the management of carious lesions in children and adolescents aged 0-17 years. The protocol will be registered with the Openscience Framework (OSF). Using a search strategy focused on the treatment of dental caries in children and adolescents, the research will search for systematic reviews in the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, ProQuest and Lilacs databases. The inclusion criteria will consider reviews with or without meta-analysis, in English, Portuguese or Spanish, focusing on interventions for managing dental caries. We will exclude reviews that do not follow PROSPERO, studies that evaluate cost-effectiveness, the accuracy of diagnostic tests, that include special patients and that include children, adolescents and adults without distinguishing the data. The data extracted includes: publication information, study characteristics, compliance with guidelines, funding, conflict of interest reporting, risk of bias assessment and protocol registration. The data selection and extraction process will be carried out by two independent reviewers.The identification of SPIN will be based on criteria established by Yavchitz et al., 2016, using the adaptation of Sensever et al., 2022, evaluating items such as clinical recommendations not supported by the findings, titles that suggest unfounded benefits, selective reporting of outcomes, omission of primary outcomes or adverse events, and emphasis on positive results, ignoring negative or statistically non-significant ones. SPIN will be analyzed in both the abstract and the full text of the reviews.It is hoped that this meta-research will prove the prevalence of SPIN in systematic reviews of pediatric dentistry and identify the most common elements for its occurrence, contributing to the understanding and mitigation of this bias in the field.