Digital clinical trials-institutional challenges in dental research

The advent of virtual clinical trials in dentistry has been progressing rapidly, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most dental clinical research trial methodologies that were conventionally performed have given way to artificial intelligence and other augmented methods using digital platforms. The current review entails the imminent transformation that has taken over the dental clinical trial research. The review was conducted using the search engines: PubMed, PubMed Central, SciELO, Cochrane Database, and Clinicaltrials.gov. The search was carried out using keywords: "Virtual clinical trial,” "Dentistry,” "Tele-dentistry,” "Big Data,” "Augmented Reality,” "hybrid trial,” "Rapid Prototyping,” "3D,” "Artificial Intelligence,” "AI,” "Personalized dental Medicine,” "Institutional virtual trial" were selected. Various components of the trials, such as patient selection, informed consent, and remote monitoring, currently employ artificial intelligence or smart platforms. Though these novel digital interfaces are still in their early stages of application in dental research methodologies, they are not without limitations. In the long run, all stakeholders involved in the virtual clinical trials must provide patient-centered treatment outcomes and ethical treatment delivery.