Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

Refine by population, intervention, comparison or outcome
More filters
Evidence found and GRADE certainty

3,323 questions · 5,762 findings · 263 reviews · Dental caries

No studies found 321 · 5.6%GRADE not reported 4,450 · 77.2%Very low 455 · 7.9%Low 297 · 5.2%Moderate 200 · 3.5%High 39 · 0.7%

Ranked among the 5,000 newest matching findings; add words or filters to narrow the search.

Dental caries vs Absence/lower severity of dental caries

Oral health-related quality of life · Adolescents (10-19 years)

Dental caries is associated with worse OHRQoL in adolescents, with greater severity linked to greater impact (narrative synthesis; no pooled estimate or GRADE rating).

1 finding from 1 review
  • Oral-health-related quality of life in adolescents: umbrella review. 2023 All outcomes
    Community/school/clinic settings; adolescents 10-19 years; included reviews conducted in multiple countries
    The impact of dental caries on OHRQoL was addressed in five systematic reviews [9, 26, 34, 36, 37]. Three articles report that the greater the severity of the carious lesion, the worse the impact on OHRQoL in…
    5 studies
    GRADE not reported

Elective neck dissection (at time of primary tumour resection) vs Therapeutic (delayed) neck dissection

Recurrence · Adults with oral cavity cancer (tongue or floor of mouth) and clinically negative neck nodes

Elective neck dissection (at time of primary tumour resection) probably leads to lower recurrence compared with therapeutic (delayed) neck dissection (moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Female sex vs Male sex

Oral health-related quality of life · Adolescents (10-19 years)

The abstract reports female sex is associated with worse OHRQoL, but the conclusion states the impact of gender was not clarified (narrative synthesis; no pooled estimate or GRADE rating).

2 findings from 1 review

Carious dentin vs Sound dentin

MMP-13 presence/activity · Human ex vivo carious dentin (mostly coronal), natural caries lesions

MMP-13 may be increased in carious dentin compared with sound dentin, but the evidence is very uncertain (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Early childhood caries / severe early childhood caries vs Caries-free controls

Stunting · Children aged ≤6 years (early childhood)

One Nepalese cross-sectional study found caries severity significantly correlated with chronic malnutrition/stunting (HAZ; p<0.0001), especially in rural children; ungraded, no effect size reported.

3 findings from 1 review

Dental caries vs Caries-free controls

Oral health-related quality of life · Indian children aged 3-5 years

In children aged 3-5 years, early childhood caries was significantly associated with poorer OHRQoL (narrative; 3 studies); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Fluoride varnish vs CPP-ACP

Remineralization / reduction in lesion severity (change in QLF, laser fluorescence, or lesion area) · Patients with white spot lesions / early caries lesions (WSLs/ECLs), including orthodontic and non-orthodontic lesions, active caries…

Fluoride varnish did not differ significantly from CPP-ACP (SMD -0.07, 95% CI -0.44 to 0.29); certainty of evidence not assessed (no GRADE).

1 finding from 1 review

Dental caries assessment (WHO/clinical diagnostic criteria; caries = DMFT>0) vs Caries-free status

CA VI concentration · Individuals assessed for dental caries (mainly children aged 2-9 years; one study in adults aged 18-24 years)

Salivary CA VI concentration is significantly lower in individuals with dental caries than in caries-free individuals (SMD -0.672, 95% CI -1.011 to -0.332; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Fluoride mouthwash vs Blank control

Cariogenic bacteria (Lactobacilli colony count) · Orthodontic patients (any age) undergoing orthodontic treatment (mostly fixed appliances)

Long-term (>=12 months) fluoride mouthwash may make little or no difference to Lactobacilli colony counts versus blank control (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Gum chewing (sugar-free) vs Within-subject before/after comparison of soft gum vs hard gum (no no-gum control)

Oral mucosal moisture · Elderly (>60 years) and medically compromised adults with xerostomia / dry mouth

One small study found that chewing hard (but not soft) gum increased oral mucosal moisture.

1 finding from 1 review

38% silver diamine fluoride vs Glass ionomer cement (GIC) plus fluoride varnish

Caries prevention (preventive fraction, SDF vs GIC+5% fluoride varnish) · intellectually disabled individuals with caries in permanent posterior teeth

SDF had a 45% preventative fraction versus glass ionomer cement plus fluoride varnish; no pooled estimate or GRADE rating was reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Dental caries vs Caries-free status

CA VI activity · Individuals assessed for dental caries (cases with caries/high caries vs. caries-free or low/very-low-caries controls)

CA VI activity was higher in participants with caries (SMD 0.87, 95% CI 0.39 to 1.36; 7 studies, 411 participants); GRADE was not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

38% SDF plus oral health education vs oral health instruction plus water

new root-surface carious lesions or restorations · community-dwelling older adults with root caries

SDF plus oral health education had a 33% preventative fraction at 24 months; no pooled estimate or GRADE rating was reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Fluoride varnish vs Placebo varnish, resin sealant, or standard care (oral hygiene instructions)

Prevalence of white spot lesions (WSL) at debonding, subject level · Healthy adolescents and adults undergoing orthodontic treatment with fixed multi-bracket appliances

Fluoride varnish applied regularly during fixed orthodontic treatment may reduce the prevalence of white spot lesions at debonding (pooled RR 0.64, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.98), but the certainty of evidence is very low.

1 finding from 1 review

Higher family income / socioeconomic status vs Lower income / worse socioeconomic status

Oral health-related quality of life · Adolescents (10-19 years)

Higher family income / better socioeconomic status is associated with better OHRQoL in adolescents (narrative synthesis; no pooled estimate or GRADE rating).

1 finding from 1 review
  • Oral-health-related quality of life in adolescents: umbrella review. 2023 All outcomes
    Community/school/clinic settings; adolescents 10-19 years; included reviews conducted in multiple countries
    Adolescents from families with higher incomes and higher levels of maternal education have better OHRQoL scores [34]. Worse oral health status, older age, female sex and worse socioeconomic status were significantly…
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported