I know of no dentist who believes that he or she does not practice evidence-based dentistry (EBD). And I, in turn, believe these dentists. A critical question for all dentists, however, is this: do they practice EBD on the basis of the best current evidence?

To gain some understanding of the magnitude of the challenge in implementing the best current evidence, and the American Dental Association’s (ADA) commitment to meeting that challenge, consider the following. Each year, on average, investigators publish reports of more than 500 human clinical trials related to each dental specialty. These trial reports appear in more than 50 journals.¹ Therefore, to provide patients with care of the highest quality that is based on the best current evidence, clinicians would need to identify, obtain, read and appraise more than one article per day, 365 days per year, for the rest of their professional lives.¹ This is a Herculean task.

To address this issue of time and access to sound science, this month the ADA Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry, established by the ADA House of Delegates and functioning under the guidance of the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs, launches the EBD Web site ("ebd.ada.org"). A grant from the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research (1 G08 LM008956-01A2) supported this effort in part.

"ebd.ada.org" provides ADA members with the current best evidence from high-quality systematic reviews. A key resource on this Web site is the section of critical summaries of systematic reviews. These summaries are short synopses of systematic reviews, written by clinical dentists specifically trained in critical appraisal whose goal is to bring the scientific content into clinical perspective.

A corollary to this feature on the new Web site is a new feature found in this issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association, "Critical Summaries," which provides a glimpse of what is available on the Web site. This feature is planned to appear monthly in these pages.

To offer a sense of the breadth, depth and rigor required in developing and maintaining this initiative, I will explain the editorial process behind it. The initial literature search and analysis identified approximately 1,000 systematic reviews in all areas of dentistry.² The ADA Library regularly updates this search and continually identifies the best current evidence. A team of dentist-editors who are trained and technique-calibrated in evidence-based dentistry review the search results and screen the reviews for validity and potential clinical import. (Full disclosure: I am one of these dentist-editors, and I acknowledge the others at the end of this column.) The editors forward any reviews that pass this screen to a second team, the ADA evidence reviewers, who are practicing dentists with training and technique calibration in EBD assessment. These evidence reviewers write a critical summary of each of the selected reviews. Before a summary is published on the EBD Web site, the EBD editors subject it to a second review process.

Simultaneously, the EBD editorial team selects one of the summaries newly published on the Web site for publication in JADA each month. The first summary, "Subgingival Débridement Appears as Effective as More Complex and Expensive Therapies for Periimplantitis," appears on page 340 of this issue.³ The title provides clinicians with a clear, succinct take-home message. The summary augments that message with a critique of the systematic review and an assessment of its underlying evidence.

For clinicians who have burning clinical questions, the Web site provides access to the best current clinical information in a concise, user-friendly format.

In short, for clinicians who have burning clinical questions, the Web site provides access to the best current clinical information in a concise, user-friendly format. Among the features of the new EBD Web site are these:

– a searchable directory of systematic reviews in dentistry, grouped alphabetically by topic and offering links to the full-text copy of systematic reviews published in JADA;

– evidence-based clinical recommendations published by the ADA;

– additional resources regarding evidence-based dentistry, including a glossary of terms;

– a "Suggest Clinical Ideas" section in which dental professionals can offer ideas as to the clinical questions they consider most important for the care they provide their patients.

The editors also seek feedback from users directly on the Web site. We want to ensure that the site meets their needs. And we want to know if we have made mistakes and how we can make improvements.

The new EBD Web site and the new section of The Journal open the door to enhanced access to the best current, transparently obtained and reviewed clinical evidence. This month, the profession marches forth to a new era in clinical care. Exelauno.