Current overview of selective outcome reporting in dentistry: A meta-search

Selective reporting of results (SOR) is a bias that compromises the transparency of dental research by presenting partial results, highlighting favorable findings, and omitting unfavorable or insignificant outcomes. This bias can distort scientific evidence, overestimate the benefits of interventions, and inappropriately influence clinical guidelines and oral health policies. Despite increasing methodological awareness of reporting biases, the conceptual definitions, assessment methods, and empirical evidence regarding SOR within dental research remain fragmented and insufficiently consolidated. Thus, this meta-research aims to establish an overview of the reported prevalence, characteristics, and factors associated with selective reporting of outcomes published in dental literature.