Abstract:
Purpose of this systematic review was to bring together studies of evidence-based practice among dentists in low- and
middle-income countries, where its use has been reported to be limited. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO.
Methodology: We searched the evidence (in English only) from medical databases including PubMed, EBSCO, The Cochrane Library, CINAHL, ScienceDirect, HINARI summon, and SCOPUS and Web of Science via Research4Life,
grey literature, hand search from relevant articles, and augmented results on Google scholar.Published reports were
retrieved from relevant websites and organizations. Studies included those that looked at key factors that facilitate or hinder Evidence Based Dentistry (EBD), as well as outcomes in terms of: knowledge, attitudes and skills of EB practice
among dentists; and the methodology used and their relevance in future EBD strategies.Main focus was on dentists, as practitioners and faculty members. Studies on students and non-dental personnel were excluded.Findings:A total of 4568
records were retrieved and five potentially relevant articles were selected after title/abstract screening. Two articles were
excluded after full text screening, and therefore Three papers were included in this review. The studies report limited
knowledge,unsatisfactory attitude towards EBD and lowpractice of EBD and use of scientific evidence databases. None
of the studies reported implementation of EBD nor evaluation thereof. The main barriers that constrained application of
EBD ranged from lack of interest to infrastructural limitations. Originality: The current review showed that there is a need
to strategised implementation of EBD in this region.
