Dental Education Guide

Verification

Sources & Verification

Every clinical claim on this site is traceable to a source. This page explains what kinds of sources we use, how we weight them, and how we verify them before publication.

Evidence hierarchy

When multiple sources address the same question, we lean on the higher tiers first and only descend when the higher tiers are silent.

  1. Tier 1 — Clinical practice guidelines & consensus statements. ADA evidence-based guidelines, AAOMS parameters of care, ITI Treatment Guides & consensus, EAO consensus, EFP/AAP joint workshops, Cochrane systematic reviews.
  2. Tier 2 — Peer-reviewed systematic reviews & meta-analyses. Published in Clinical Oral Implants Research, Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry, Journal of Periodontology, International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Implants, and equivalent indexed journals.
  3. Tier 3 — Peer-reviewed primary literature. Randomized controlled trials, prospective cohorts, and large retrospective studies from the same journal set.
  4. Tier 4 — Regulatory & public-health sources. FDA device data, CDC infection-control standards, WHO documents, NIH/NIDCR patient information.
  5. Tier 5 — Reference textbooks. Contemporary Fixed Prosthodontics; Contemporary Implant Dentistry; Newman & Carranza's Clinical Periodontology; for anatomy and mechanism only.
  6. Tier 6 — Expert clinical opinion. Used only where higher tiers are silent, and labeled as opinion in the text.

Sources we do not treat as authoritative

  • Clinic websites, blogs, and testimonials.
  • Manufacturer marketing materials, sponsored white papers, and continuing-education promotional decks.
  • Anonymous forum threads and unverified social media content.
  • Predatory or non-indexed journals.

Primary vs. secondary sourcing

Wherever a statistic could be misrepresented by a chain of citations — for example, implant survival rates or graft success percentages — we cite the primary study, not a secondary source that quotes it. When we rely on a consensus document that has aggregated primary data, we say so.

Verification steps before publication

  1. Each quantitative claim is tied to a specific source in an internal draft.
  2. An editor checks that the source actually supports the claim, in context.
  3. Where evidence is heterogeneous, ranges are presented instead of a single number.
  4. A licensed dental professional reviews the page against current consensus.
  5. Broken source links are re-verified on the site's review cadence.

Corrections

If a source is retracted, superseded by newer consensus, or misread by our editors, the affected page is corrected and dated. See our editorial policy for how corrections are documented.

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