A PRISMA assessment of reporting the quality of published dental systematic reviews in Iran, up to 2017

Background and aim: proper scientific reporting is necessary to ensure correct interpretation of study results by readers. systematic reviews (srs) are of critical importance in evidence-based dentistry. this study assessed the reporting quality of published dental srs in iran. methods: the pubmed and isi electronic databases were searched to collect published iranian dental srs up to the end of 2016. a 17-item checklist, based on the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (prisma) statement, was used to analyze the completeness of srs reporting. results: 42 srs were included in this study. the majority were published in the two fields of endodontics and oral and maxillofacial surgery (38.0%). the mean overall reporting quality score was 18.48 ± 5.03 out of 30 for meta-analyses and 24 for srs. inadequate reporting of pico question (problem/patient/population, intervention/indicator, comparison, outcome) (73.8%), level of strength (57.1%), and financial supporter (52.4%) were observed. conclusion: the results of this study suggest that the reporting quality of iranian dental srs should be further improved.