Question · asked by 1 review

Started toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste at or before 24 months (earlier start) vs Started after 24 months (later start): Fluorosis (percentage prevalence in permanent teeth)

Population
Children exposed to topical fluoride when under 6 years old; fluorosis assessed in permanent teeth at 6 to 18 years
Intervention
Started toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste at or before 24 months (earlier start)
Comparison
Started after 24 months (later start)
Outcome
Fluorosis (percentage prevalence in permanent teeth)

It is very uncertain whether started toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste at or before 24… changes fluorosis (percentage prevalence in permanent teeth) compared with started after 24 months (later start) (very low certainty).

What each review found

Include earlier review versions
No studies found 0 · 0%GRADE not reported 0 · 0%Very low 2 · 100%Low 0 · 0%Moderate 0 · 0%High 0 · 0%
FindingEffectStudiesGRADE certainty
Started toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste at or before 24 months (earlier start) vs Started after 24 months (later start)
Fluorosis (percentage prevalence in permanent teeth) · Children exposed to topical fluoride when under 6 years old; fluorosis assessed in permanent teeth at 6 to 18 years · Fluorosis assessed when most permanent teeth of interest had erupted (6 to 18 years)
It is very uncertain whether started toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste at or before 24… changes fluorosis (percentage prevalence in permanent teeth) compared with started after 24 months (later start) (very low certainty).
Topical fluoride as a cause of dental fluorosis in children (2024) · Cochrane All outcomes
RR 0.83 [0.61, 1.13]1 study · 3939 participantsVery low
Started toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste at or before 24 months (earlier start) vs Started after 24 months (later start)
Fluorosis (percentage prevalence in permanent teeth) · Children exposed to topical fluoride when under 6 years old; fluorosis assessed in permanent teeth at 6 to 18 years · Fluorosis assessed when most permanent teeth of interest had erupted (6 to 18 years)
It is very uncertain whether started toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste at or before 24… changes fluorosis (percentage prevalence in permanent teeth) compared with started after 24 months (later start) (very low certainty).
Topical fluoride as a cause of dental fluorosis in children (2024) · Cochrane All outcomes
OR 1.12 [0.89, 1.42]5 studies · 3592 participantsVery low

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

The reviews

ReviewSearched up toIncluded studiesAMSTAR 2
Topical fluoride as a cause of dental fluorosis in children
2024 · Cochrane All outcomes
2022-07Not listedNot assessed

The same intervention and outcome, asked in another population or against another comparator.

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.