Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register

The Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register contains reports of controlled clinical trials (CCTs) and randomised controlled clinical trials (RCTs) related to the scope of the Group and which may be of interest to review authors undertaking Cochrane systematic reviews.

In addition to references to full papers it also includes materias such as published correspondence, conference proceedings, research abstracts, etc.

The source for the foundation and routine updating of the Oral Health Group Trials Register is the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) contained within The Cochrane Library (an electronic library updated quarterly). (Trials within CENTRAL are the result of the application of highly sensitive search strategies to search databases including MEDLINE and EMBASE to identify RCTs and CCTs, and records identified from handsearching journals and from electronic searching carried out by Cochrane contributors from around the world.) Other additions to the database are made through searching a variety of databases. An important source of material for the Register is that obtained from the Oral Health Group's Journal Handsearching Programme where handsearchers search journals from cover to cover to identify all trials that do not get picked up by electronic searches due to the limited amount of information contained in the electronic record. Handsearching also identifies correspondence relating to trials and published and unpublished trials from conference proceedings and abstracts, much of which is not published in electronic media.

Currently containing more than 20,000 records, the Oral Health Group Trials Register provides a valuable starting point for review authors and others searching for controlled clinical trials (RCTs/CCTs) on oral health topics.

The Register is maintained and managed by the Oral Health Group's Editorial Base at the School of Dentistry, The University of Manchester, where staff will be pleased to assist Cochrane review authors or potential review authors in carrying out searches of the database.

Further information can be obtained from the Group's Trials Search Co-ordinator.