[The role of guidelines and systematic reviews in oral healthcare].

Clinical practice guidelines are a very appropriate means of keeping up to date, effectively and efficiently, with knowledge on a specific clinical topic. These are a compilation of clinical expertise retrieved from daily practice, scientific evidence derived from journals and the opinions of patients, which together form the core of the treasury of ideas of evidence-based dentistry. The development of clinical practice guidelines should be carried out according to a strictly defined procedure. In this procedure systematic reviews of literature should be used. The Cochrane Collaboration is an organization that develops reliable systematic reviews. Clinical practice guidelines are an essential part of evidence-based dentistry. The evidence-based approach should be fully integrated in dental education and in daily dental practice. The establishment of a national centre for evidence-based development and implementation of dental clinical practice guidelines, in cooperation with other healthcare professionals, should have the highest priority, in order to maintain the quality of oral healthcare in professional hands.