Evidence summary: does dentists' fear have an adverse effect on clinical decision-making?

Since August 2009, members of the Primary Care Dentistry Research Forum (www.dentistryresearch.org) have taken part in an online vote to identify questions in day-to-day practise that they felt most needed to be answered with conclusive research. The question which receives the most votes each month forms the subject of a critical appraisal of the relevant literature. Each month a new round of voting takes place to decide which further questions will be reviewed. Dental practitioners and dental care professionals are encouraged to take part in the voting and submit their own questions to be included in the vote by joining the website. The paper below details a summary of the findings of the eighth critical appraisal. In conclusion, the critical appraisal found no studies that identified the nature and extent of dentists' fears. Nor did the appraisal find any studies that assessed how dentists' own fears impact upon clinical decision-making. It would appear that this subject is novel territory for primary research.