(PO-075) Assessing the Level of Evidence in Postgraduate Pediatric Dentistry Presentations

Author: Ghalia Bhadila, B.D.S., M.S., Ph.D
Author: Tahir Hamza, D.D.S, M.S. – Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
Author: Vineet Dhar, B.D.S, M.D.S, Ph.D – University of Maryland School of Dentistry
Author: Irina F. Dragan, D.D.S., D.M.D, M.S – Associate Professor, Department of Periodontology, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
Submitter: Ghalia Bhadila, B.D.S., M.S., Ph.D

Objectives: The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to assess the level of evidence of the presentations presented by the pediatric dental residents throughout their residency at the University of Maryland-Baltimore (UMB).

Methods: After institutional ethical approval was received, the presentations compiled by the postgraduate pediatric dentistry at UMB were appraised. The outcomes were compiled and tabulated using Excel sheet. For each presentation, the references were identified, and the following information were collected: level of evidence details (year of publication, source of the reference, choice of journal, journal impact factor, study design (filtered or unfiltered) as determined by reading the abstract or the full text if needed, and Altmetric score of the articles). Information regarding the first author: name and h-index were also collected. All statistics were conducted using STATA version 15.1 (College Station, TX, USA) and Excel software.

Results: A total of 74 presentations compiled a sum of 690 references during the years 2015 to 2020. Most of the presentations were at the area of special health care needs (22%), followed by oral diagnosis/oral pathology/oral medicine (17%). The median number for the references used in each presentation was 8. The median number of first author’s h-index 25 (25TH - 75th IQR = 15-46), while the median number of altmetric score was 4 (25TH - 75th IQR = 2-13).

Conclusion: This study provides an understanding of the level of evidence used by the dental residents in their case-based learning seminars in the field of pediatric dentistry. This information may provide some data that might guide course directors of the same institute/other institutes for future course improvement. In addition, future studies may compare the level of evidence at various academic institutions.