Table 2 Eligibility criteria
Item | Included | Excluded |
|---|---|---|
Study designs | Systematic reviews of orthodontic interventions. The definition of systematic review, intervention review, and orthodontic interventions listed in the Glossary of terms will be used to assess whether a review is eligible (Table 1) | 1) Non-interventional reviews such as, ‘Methodology’. ‘Diagnostic’, ‘Qualitative’, ‘Prognostic’ etc 2) Rapid and scoping reviews 3) Systematic reviews with Bayesian network meta-analysis 5) Systematic reviews of interventions that did not find any eligible studies (empty reviews) |
Participants | Systematic reviews on any type of patients undergoing orthodontic interventions, i.e., patients of any health status, sex, age, and demographics, and socio-economic status | 1) Intervention reviews that focus exclusively on patients with congenital anomalies, for example with cleft lip and palate 2) Systematic reviews of animal or laboratory studies |
Interventions | 1) Systematic reviews that assessed the effects of clinical orthodontic interventions. Clinical orthodontic interventions refer to the use of any type of orthodontic appliance that are used to move teeth or change the jaw size or position for orthodontic purposes 2) Systematic reviews of interventions with appliances to maintain or stabilize the outcomes of orthodontic treatment, for example retainers 3) Systematic reviews of orthodontic interventions that compared the effects of orthodontic treatment with or without additional interventions such as pharmacological or small surgical interventions, e.g., periodontal or implant surgery 4) No exclusion criteria were applied to the characteristics of the operator who conducted the interventions | 1) Systematic reviews in which patients receive orthodontic treatment, but in which the effects of other interventions, e.g., periodontal surgery, were compared and not the effects of orthodontic interventions 2) Systematic reviews of interventions in which orthodontic appliances were specifically used for other purposes, e.g., changing jaw positions to treat respiration or temporomandibular disorders 3) Systematic review of orthodontic interventions that included orthognathic surgery 4) Systematic reviews that focussed exclusively on adverse effects of interventions 5) Systematic reviews that did not assess a specific orthodontic intervention, but referred to orthodontic treatment as a whole |
Outcomes | 1) Any adverse effect of orthodontic interventions scored at any endpoint or timing 2) The effects of orthodontic interventions did not refer just to outcomes related to tooth and jaw size and positions, but also to broader outcomes such as periodontal health, esthetic changes, the health of the temporomandibular joint, patient health experiences, and economic issues associated with the interventions 3) The reporting of outcomes on adverse effects did not determine eligibility of reviews for this cross-sectional study, i.e., reviews were not excluded because they did not report measured outcome data in a ‘usable’ way [29] | No exclusion criteria |
Stetting | Any type of setting in which the interventions were conducted, i.e., university or private practice | No exclusion criteria |