Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs Fluoride varnish: Caries arrestment at the surface level
- Population
- Children and adults with active dental caries (aged 1-50; mostly preschool/school children with primary dentition)
- Intervention
- Silver diamine fluoride (SDF)
- Comparison
- Fluoride varnish
- Outcome
- Caries arrestment at the surface level
Pooling two highly heterogeneous trials, SDF showed no significant difference versus 5% sodium fluoride varnish in surface-level caries arrestment (OR 1.46; ungraded subgroup).
What each review found
Include earlier review versions| Finding | Effect | Studies | GRADE certainty |
|---|---|---|---|
Silver diamine fluoride (SDF; 38% in most trials, 30% in three) vs Sodium fluoride varnish (5% NaF) Caries arrestment at the surface level · Children and adults with active dental caries (aged 1-50; mostly preschool/school children with primary dentition) · 12 to 18 months, Children/adults with dental caries; multiple countries; community/clinic care setting not clearly specified, SDF vs NAF Pooling two highly heterogeneous trials, SDF showed no significant difference versus 5% sodium fluoride varnish in surface-level caries arrestment (OR 1.46; ungraded subgroup). The role of silver diamine fluoride as dental caries preventive and arresting agent: a systematic review and… (2024) All outcomes | OR 1.46 [0.71, 2.98] | 2 studies · 3541 participants | GRADE not reported |
Findings are shown side by side, never pooled across reviews.
The reviews
| Review | Searched up to | Included studies | AMSTAR 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The role of silver diamine fluoride as dental caries preventive and arresting agent: a systematic review and meta-analysis. 2024 All outcomes | Not specified (publication window 2014-2024; references accessed July 2024) | 20 | Critically Low / Critically Low |
Related questions
The same intervention and outcome, asked in another population or against another comparator.
- Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs Nano-silver fluoride (NSF; with or without green tea extract) · Children and adults with active dental caries (aged 1-50; mostly preschool/school… · 1 review
- Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs Other methods (pooled: nano-silver fluoride, sodium fluoride varnish) · Children and adults with active dental caries (aged 1-50; mostly preschool/school… · 1 review
- Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs Placebo, control, and/or other interventions · Children and adults without systemic diseases affecting dental health · 1 review
Studies behind the findings
The primary studies the full-text reviews tie to this outcome. Reviews with headline outcomes only do not list them here.
- Is Silver Diamine Fluoride Effective in Arresting Enamel Caries? A Randomized Clinical Trial. · 2022 · included by 1 of these review
- A randomized clinical trial to arrest dentin caries in young children using silver diamine fluoride. · 2020 · included by 1 of these review
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.