How to Use Evidence-Based Dental Practices to Improve Your Clinical Decision Making, Excerpt 11 Table 2.1: Main Components and Examples of Clinical Questions, According to Their Natures Nature of the Question Example Population Intervention (Exposure or Diagnostic Test) Comparison (or Reference Standard) Outcomes Therapy or Prevention What is the effectiveness of antibiotics in preventing complications such as postoperative infections after third-molar extractions? Patients undergoing third-molar extractions Antibiotic prophylaxis No prophylaxis Alveolar osteitis, surgical wound infection Harm or Etiology Does giving toddlers milk instead of water to drink at night cause caries? Toddlers Drinking milk at night Drinking water at night Caries Diagnosis How useful is a periapical radiograph in detecting interproximal caries? Patients suspected of having interproximal caries Periapical radiograph Bitewing radiograph Diagnostic accuracy (as assessed by means of true-positive, true- negative, false- positive and false- negative findings) Prognosis Are patients with diabetes at higher risk of experiencing complications after third-molar extractions than are patients without diabetes? Patients undergoing third-molar extractions Presence of diabetes Absence of diabetes Pain, swelling, trismus, postoperative infections Source: Brignardello-Petersen R, Carrasco-Labra A, Booth HA, Glick M, Guyatt GH, Azarpazhooh A, Agoritsas T. A practical approach to evidence-based dentistry: How to search for evidence to inform clinical decisions. J Am Dent Assoc. 2014 Dec 145(12):1262-7. doi: 10.14219/jada.2014.113. PubMed PMID: 25429040.