Question · asked by 1 review

Electronic cigarette use vs Non-smokers: Dry mouth (xerostomia)

Population
Humans who use e-cigarettes (adolescents to adults) assessed for dental caries
Intervention
Electronic cigarette use
Comparison
Non-smokers
Outcome
Dry mouth (xerostomia)

Two studies reported more frequent xerostomia (dry mouth) among e-cigarette users than non-smokers, which may raise caries risk, but results were not pooled (ungraded, narrative).

What each review found

Current versions only
FindingEffectStudiesGRADE certainty
E-cigarette use (ENDS / vaping) vs Non-smokers
Dry mouth (xerostomia) · Humans who use e-cigarettes (adolescents to adults) assessed for dental caries · Cross-sectional to 12 months, Clinical/community dental studies in several countries; caries assessed clinically or from national survey/health records/questionnaires
Two studies reported more frequent xerostomia (dry mouth) among e-cigarette users than non-smokers, which may raise caries risk, but results were not pooled (ungraded, narrative).
The effects of electronic smoking on dental caries and proinflammatory markers: a systematic review and… (2025) All outcomes
Narrative synthesis. E-cigarette users reported dry mouth more frequently than non-smokers: Chaffee 2021 dry mouth 12% (OR 1.4); Alhajj 2022 dry mouth 33.3% in e-cigarette users vs 23.4% in controls. Not pooled.2 studiesGRADE not reported

Findings are shown side by side, never pooled across reviews.

The reviews

ReviewSearched up toIncluded studiesAMSTAR 2
The effects of electronic smoking on dental caries and proinflammatory markers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
2025 All outcomes
September 2024 (initial search April 2024, updated September 2024)41Not applicable
How reviews are matched to this question

Reviews word the same question differently. Four decision models (TypeSafe's Jev, Liquid AI's d1-ultra, SubQ Snap and Baseten's Elephant) judged each wording of the population, intervention, comparator and outcome against the others; two wordings count as the same when at least three of them agree and none clearly disagrees, and findings count as this question only when all four elements match. Timing, setting and subgroup never split a question: they are shown on each finding.