Analysis of the Methodological Quality of Published Prosthodontic-related Systematic Reviews and their Impact on Clinical Practice, Research and Teaching According to the Correspondent Authors

Ideally, health care systematic reviews (SRs) should be beneficial to practicing professionals in making everyday clinical decisions. However, the conclusions drawn from SRs are directly related to their quality. An exploratory analysis was completed to determine the current quality of prosthodontics related SRs, and their potential impact on the careers of it’s authors.;First, key descriptive characteristics and methodological quality features of published SRs related to prosthodontics were gathered and assessed. Descriptive and inferential statistical testing was performed on both components. Overall, the methodological quality of the SRs was limited.;Finally, an online survey was conducted to ascertain if there was a perceived impact of SRs on their author’s clinical practice, teaching and/or research. However, response rate from the survey was poor (14%). Most authors that responded to the survey reported a significantly positive impact of SRs on their careers, whether it was for application of SR findings in clinical practice, research and/or teaching.