Guidelines are systematically compiled aids to decision-making on the appropriate medical or dental procedures applicable to therapeutic measures and specific health problems. They are the fruit of a consensus among a number of experts from various specialties and/or working groups arrived at by a clearly defined, transparent process. Rather than constituting rigidly prescriptive instructions, they are general guides designed to facilitate action and decision-making, as well as instruments of quality assurance and management. Their aim is to minimize treatment risks and to motivate practitioners to adopt a medical approach based on scientific criteria, while at the same time taking account of patient needs and attitudes.

The function of a Guideline is to assess the current status of knowledge on specific health problems and medical intervention in accordance with the principles of evidence-based medicine (EBM). Another aim is to reconcile conflicting positions and to evaluate the likely benefits or adverse effects of a given procedure. Guidelines ultimately serve to answer the following questions: What is necessary and practical? What is superfluous? What is obsolete?

The ZZQ facilitates the selection of appropriate subjects for Guidelines on the basis of transparent criteria (prioritization); coordinates their compilation by groups of authors; is responsible for the application of structured processes for achieving consensus; publishes the Guidelines on the World Wide Web and sometimes also in the form of brochures for dentists and as patient information; promotes the implementation of Guidelines in the everyday practice of the dental profession; and ensures that the Guidelines are continuously updated. The ZZQ's aim is not to present a large number of relatively vague documents, but to issue Guidelines that exhibit a high level of development.