Within person trial is an efficient study design for randomized controlled trials which has been widely used in fields of dentistry, dermatology and ophthalmology. However, due to a series of inherent methodological difficulties, the design, conduct and reporting of within person trials usually requires additional methodological knowledge and considerations from researchers. To standardize and improve the reporting quality of these trials, the BMJ recently published the CONSORT statement extension for within person trials. The present article aimed to provide interpretation of this reporting guideline, and thereby promote its understanding and use among Chinese researchers.
ObjectivesTo systematically review the patients’ satisfaction of implant supported mandibular dentures and conventional dentures.MethodsPubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang and VIP databases were searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on patients’ satisfaction of implant supported mandibular dentures (IODs) and conventional dentures (CDs) from inception to November 31st, 2016. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and evaluated the risk of bias of the included studies. Then, meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsSeven randomized-controlled trials were identified. The results of meta-analysis showed that compared with CDs group, IODs group had a relatively higher level of patients’ satisfaction (SMD=1.11, 95%CI 0.79 to 1.43, P<0.001) and oral health quality of life (MD=–12.41, 95%CI –18.96 to –5.86,P<0.001).ConclusionsThe current evidence suggests that IODs may be a better choice for mandibular edentulous patients than CDs. Due to the limitations of the quality and quantity of the included studies, the above conclusions still require larger sample and high quality research to verify.