Improved clinical decision-making using the evidence-based approach.

Abstract

This article summarizes the evidence-based approach, a comprehensive and rigorous method for evaluating information, improving decision-making and implementing clinical treatment. The participants in The American Academy of Periodontology World Workshop assessed the evidentiary status of periodontal and implant treatment using the evidence-based approach. The major goal of the Workshop was to improve treatment decisions by increasing the strength of the inference that practitioners can derive from the base of knowledge contained within the literature.