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

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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%

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Dental caries assessment (WHO/clinical diagnostic criteria; caries = DMFT>0) vs None (descriptive prevalence meta-analysis)

Dental caries prevalence · General Pakistani population (all ages and both sexes; predominantly children and adolescents)

In permanent dentition, the pooled prevalence of dental caries was 57.2% (95% CI 26.3 to 85.3); ungraded.

10 findings from 1 review
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Micro-invasive treatment (proximal sealing or resin infiltration): resin sealant, glass ionomer sealant, polyurethane/adhesive patch, or resin infiltration vs Non-invasive / control treatment

Radiographic proximal caries lesion progression · Patients with non-cavitated proximal (approximal) caries lesions (primary or permanent dentition)

In the low caries-risk subgroup, micro-invasive treatment reduced the odds of lesion progression (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.72; ungraded subgroup).

9 findings from 1 review
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Analogue (conventional) radiographs vs Digital radiographs (direct within-person / paired comparison); reference standard: histology, excavation, or enhanced visual examination

Specificity for detection and diagnosis of early (enamel) caries · Asymptomatic children, adolescents, or adults presenting for clinical examination (in vivo studies), or extracted teeth of children or…
2 findings from 1 review

Sealing using sealant materials vs Selective carious tissue removal (selective excavation, SE)

Failure of therapy · Children and/or adults with permanent or primary teeth, vital (sensitive) pulps, and cavitated or dentine carious lesions conventionally…

It is very uncertain whether sealing using sealant materials changes failure of therapy compared with selective carious tissue removal (selective excavation, SE) (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Fluoride concentration relative to the acceptable range (electrometric ion-selective electrode measurement; acceptable range mostly 0.6-0.8 ppmF) vs None (descriptive proportion meta-analysis)

Water samples with fluoride concentration below the acceptable range · Artificially fluoridated public water supply in Brazilian cities (water samples under external control)

In the Northeast Brazilian region, a pooled 79.7% of water samples had fluoride below the acceptable range; ungraded.

2 findings from 1 review

Fibre-optic transillumination (FOTI) vs Histological validation (serial sectioning, grinding, hemisection, or microradiography)

Diagnostic accuracy for occlusal caries detection at the dentin caries detection level (D0-2 versus D3-4) · Extracted human permanent posterior teeth (premolars and molars), occlusal (pit-and-fissure) surfaces

In in vitro, fibre-optic transillumination pooled specificity was 0.97 (95% CI 0.89 to 0.994) for occlusal caries at the dentin detection level; ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review
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Clear aligners (Invisalign / thermoformed aligners) vs Fixed appliances

Lactobacilli presence (CFU > 10^5) · Adults undergoing orthodontic treatment

Aligners probably lower the risk of high lactobacilli counts versus fixed appliances in adults at 3 months (RR 0.09, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.47; low certainty).

2 findings from 1 review

Analogue (conventional) radiographs vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, or enhanced visual examination)

Specificity for detection and diagnosis of early (enamel) caries · Asymptomatic children, adolescents, or adults presenting for clinical examination (in vivo studies), or extracted teeth of children or…
1 finding from 1 review

Molar-incisor hypomineralisation (MIH) assessment vs None (descriptive prevalence review; subgroup analyses by urban/rural status, country and year)

MIH prevalence · School-aged children in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai)

MIH prevalence among school-aged children in Dubai ranged from 7.6% to 27.2% across two studies, higher in females and low-socioeconomic-class schools (narrative synthesis; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Clear aligners (Invisalign / thermoformed aligners) vs Fixed appliances

Average fluorescence loss (dF%) · Adults undergoing orthodontic treatment

A single study reported lower average fluorescence (mineral) loss with aligners versus fixed appliances in adults at 3 months (MD -1.40, 95% CI -2.15 to -0.65; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Higher number of lost teeth (per one additional lost tooth) vs Fewer lost teeth (continuous, per-tooth increment)

All-cause mortality (ACM) · Adults (any age) with a known number of remaining teeth, followed prospectively in cohort studies

Each additional lost tooth was associated with a multivariable-adjusted HR of 1.02 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.03) for all-cause mortality (11 studies, I2=89%), statistically significant; GRADE per-analysis ratings reported in Supplementary File 7 (not available in provided sources).

3 findings from 1 review

Conventional bitewing radiography (D-speed film) vs Histological validation of dental tissues (gold standard)

Diagnostic accuracy for proximal caries detection (caries detection level) · Extracted permanent posterior teeth with proximal surfaces (in vitro)

Under in vitro conditions, conventional D-speed bitewing radiography had a pooled diagnostic odds ratio of 5.2 (95% CI 1.6, 16.8) for proximal caries detection at the caries detection level; ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review
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Non-selective carious tissue removal and conventional restoration (CR) vs Stepwise carious tissue removal (SW)

Failure of therapy · Children and/or adults with permanent or primary teeth, vital (sensitive) pulps, and cavitated or dentine carious lesions conventionally…

Non-selective carious tissue removal and conventional restoration (CR) probably leads to higher failure of therapy compared with stepwise carious tissue removal (SW) (moderate certainty).

2 findings from 1 review

Induction chemotherapy plus locoregional treatment (radiotherapy and/or surgery) vs Locoregional treatment (radiotherapy and/or surgery) alone

Overall survival, induction platinum + 5-fluorouracil prior to surgery vs surgery alone · People receiving curative-intent treatment for oral cavity and oropharyngeal (squamous cell) cancer

Induction chemotherapy plus locoregional treatment (radiotherapy… showed no clear difference in overall survival, induction platinum + 5-fluorouracil prior to… compared with locoregional treatment (radiotherapy and/or surgery) alone (low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Visual examination (VE) vs Histological validation of dental tissues (gold standard)

Diagnostic accuracy for proximal caries detection (caries detection level) · Extracted permanent posterior teeth with proximal surfaces (in vitro)

Under in vitro conditions, visual examination had a pooled sensitivity of 0.64 (95% CI 0.42, 0.81) for proximal caries detection at the caries detection level; ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review
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