Dentistry, Dental Hygiene & Dental Assisting

Summaries and evidence-based guidelines draw on the best available evidence across multiple levels to present a broad overview and outline management options for a given health problem.

SYNOPSES OF SYNTHESES AND STUDIES

These are short, expert-written summaries of systematic reviews or primary studies. They usually include a quality rating or critical appraisal so you can quickly judge the reliability of the evidence.

SYNTHESES

Syntheses combine findings from multiple primary studies to provide an overall understanding of a research question. Common examples include systematic reviews, scoping reviews, health technology assessments, and meta-analyses. These critically assess the included studies for quality and risk of bias.

PRIMARY STUDIES

Primary studies report new research findings. Their quality hasn’t been appraised, so critical evaluation is essential.

These databases focus on high-quality primary studies, especially randomized controlled trials, making it easier to find strong study designs.

Unfiltered databases include all publication types (primary research studies, journal articles, letters, and commentaries). Because quality varies, study design filters or clinical queries can help you focus on the most relevant study designs.

These search across multiple evidence sources at once, helping you quickly find guidelines, systematic reviews, and primary studies in a single search.

Use the Library website to search print and electronic books.  Below are selected eBook packages.