Question · asked by 1 review
Primary school-based interventions (one or more of: school health policy, oral health education, healthy school environment, access to oral health services, community involvement) vs usual practice: Dental caries
- Population
- Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)
- Intervention
- Primary school-based interventions (one or more of: school health policy, oral health education, healthy school environment, access to oral health services, community involvement)
- Comparison
- usual practice
- Outcome
- Dental caries
Among children aged 6-8 years, DMFT scores were significantly reduced (SMD -0.11); subgroup not separately GRADE-rated.
What each review found
Current versions onlyNo studies found 0 · 0%GRADE not reported 6 · 75%Very low 2 · 25%Low 0 · 0%Moderate 0 · 0%High 0 · 0%
| Finding | Effect | Studies | GRADE certainty |
|---|---|---|---|
Primary school-based interventions (one or more of: school health policy, oral health education, healthy school environment, access to oral health services, community involvement) vs No intervention or usual practice/activities Dental caries measured by DMFT scores · Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) · Post-intervention; follow-up varied across studies (interventions ranged from <2 years to >=2 years and longer), Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean), Age 6-8 years Among children aged 6-8 years, DMFT scores were significantly reduced (SMD -0.11); subgroup not separately GRADE-rated. Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and… (2022) All outcomes | SMD -0.11 [-0.17, -0.04] | Not reported | GRADE not reported |
Primary school-based interventions (one or more of: school health policy, oral health education, healthy school environment, access to oral health services, community involvement) vs No intervention or usual practice/activities Dental caries measured by DMFS scores · Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) · Post-intervention; follow-up varied across studies (interventions ranged from <2 years to >=2 years and longer), Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean), <=3 intervention activities Interventions with <=3 activities showed no significant effect on DMFS scores (SMD -0.58); no significant subgroup difference by number of activities. Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and… (2022) All outcomes | SMD -0.58 [-1.62, 0.45] | Not reported | GRADE not reported |
Primary school-based interventions (one or more of: school health policy, oral health education, healthy school environment, access to oral health services, community involvement) vs No intervention or usual practice/activities Dental caries measured by DMFT scores · Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) · <2 years, Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean), Intervention duration <2 years Interventions lasting <2 years showed no significant effect on DMFT scores (SMD 0.01); subgroup not separately GRADE-rated. Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and… (2022) All outcomes | SMD 0.01 [-0.16, 0.18] | 3 studies | GRADE not reported |
Primary school-based interventions (one or more of: school health policy, oral health education, healthy school environment, access to oral health services, community involvement) vs No intervention or usual practice/activities Dental caries measured by DMFT scores · Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) · Post-intervention; follow-up varied across studies (interventions ranged from <2 years to >=2 years and longer), Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean), Age 8-15 years Among children aged 8-15 years, DMFT scores were significantly reduced (SMD -0.41), a larger effect than in 6-8 year-olds. Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and… (2022) All outcomes | SMD -0.41 [-0.50, -0.32] | Not reported | GRADE not reported |
Primary school-based interventions (one or more of: school health policy, oral health education, healthy school environment, access to oral health services, community involvement) vs No intervention or usual practice/activities Dental caries measured by DMFT scores · Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) · >=2 years, Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean), Intervention duration >=2 years Interventions lasting >=2 years significantly reduced DMFT scores (SMD -0.49); subgroup difference by duration was significant (P=0.004). Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and… (2022) All outcomes | SMD -0.49 [-0.79, -0.19] | 4 studies | GRADE not reported |
Primary school-based interventions (one or more of: school health policy, oral health education, healthy school environment, access to oral health services, community involvement) vs No intervention or usual practice/activities Dental caries measured by DMFT scores · Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) · Post-intervention; follow-up varied across studies (interventions ranged from <2 years to >=2 years and longer), Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean) Primary school-based interventions may reduce dental caries measured by DMFT scores (SMD -0.33, favouring intervention), but the certainty of evidence is very low. Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and… (2022) All outcomes | SMD -0.33 [-0.56, -0.10] | 7 studies · 6766 participants | Very low |
Primary school-based interventions (one or more of: school health policy, oral health education, healthy school environment, access to oral health services, community involvement) vs No intervention or usual practice/activities Dental caries measured by DMFS scores · Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) · Post-intervention; follow-up varied across studies (interventions ranged from <2 years to >=2 years and longer), Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean) The effect of school-based interventions on DMFS scores is uncertain and not statistically significant (SMD -0.26; very low certainty). Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and… (2022) All outcomes | SMD -0.26 [-0.70, 0.18] | 5 studies · 3506 participants | Very low |
Primary school-based interventions (one or more of: school health policy, oral health education, healthy school environment, access to oral health services, community involvement) vs No intervention or usual practice/activities Dental caries measured by DMFS scores · Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) · Post-intervention; follow-up varied across studies (interventions ranged from <2 years to >=2 years and longer), Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean), >3 intervention activities Interventions with >3 activities showed no significant effect on DMFS scores (SMD 0.02). Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and… (2022) All outcomes | SMD 0.02 [-0.13, 0.17] | Not reported | GRADE not reported |
Findings are shown side by side, never pooled across reviews.
The reviews
| Review | Searched up to | Included studies | AMSTAR 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic… 2022 All outcomes | 2020-04-08 to 2020-06-07 (updated via automatic alerts; publication window 1995 to December 2021) | 54 | Critically Low / Low |
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.