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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

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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Laser fluorescence (DIAGNOdent 2095) vs Cavity preparation or biopsy (operative validation)

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

In in vivo, laser fluorescence (DIAGNOdent 2095) pooled summary ROC AUC was 0.92 for occlusal caries at the dentin detection level; ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review
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Selective carious tissue removal (selective excavation, SE) vs Hall Technique (sealing with a preformed metal crown)

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 selective carious tissue removal (selective excavation, SE) changes failure of therapy compared with hall Technique (sealing with a preformed metal crown) (very low certainty).

2 findings from 1 review

Fibre-optic transillumination (FOTI) vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, radiographs/microCT, or tooth separation)

Sensitivity 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

Chemotherapy regimen A (+/- locoregional treatment) vs Chemotherapy regimen B (+/- locoregional treatment)

Overall survival (total mortality), chemotherapy regimen A vs regimen B · People receiving curative-intent treatment for oral cavity and oropharyngeal (squamous cell) cancer
1 finding from 1 review

Electrical conductance devices (electronic caries monitor (ECM) and/or CarieScan Pro), used as an adjunct to clinical oral examination vs Reference standard: histology or enhanced visual examination (with or without radiographs)

Outcome not reported · Children/adolescents/adults or extracted teeth; target condition = non-cavitated enamel caries on SMOOTH tooth surfaces.

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review
  • Electrical conductance for the detection of dental caries 2021 · Cochrane All outcomes
    Up to 3 months between index test and reference standard (in vivo studies)
    No eligible studies. All included studies assessed occlusal surfaces only; smooth surfaces were a planned surface subgroup with no data.
    0 studies
    No studies found

Non-selective carious tissue removal and conventional restoration (CR) vs Hall Technique (sealing with a preformed metal crown)

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) may leads to higher failure of therapy compared with hall Technique (sealing with a preformed metal crown) (low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Electrical conductance devices (electronic caries monitor (ECM) and/or CarieScan Pro), used as an adjunct to clinical oral examination vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, or enhanced visual examination)

Specificity · Children, adolescents, or adults presenting asymptomatically or suspected of early enamel caries (in vivo), or extracted teeth of…
2 findings from 1 review

Clear aligners (Invisalign / thermoformed aligners) vs Fixed appliances

Plaque · Adolescents/teenagers undergoing orthodontic treatment

A single study reported a lower full-mouth plaque score with aligners versus fixed appliances in adolescents at 12 months (MD -43.48, 95% CI -47.65 to -39.31; ungraded).

3 findings from 1 review

Conventional bitewing radiography (D-speed film) vs Cavity preparation or biopsy (operative validation)

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

In in vivo, conventional bitewing radiography (D-speed) pooled sensitivity was 0.79 (95% CI 0.41 to 0.96) 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

Gingival index (GI) · Adolescents/teenagers undergoing orthodontic treatment

A single study reported lower gingival index with aligners versus fixed appliances in adolescents at 18 months (MD -0.57, 95% CI -0.93 to -0.21; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Digital bitewing radiography, sensor-based (CCD/CMOS) vs Direct visual examination after tooth separation or bioptical cavity preparation

Diagnostic accuracy for proximal caries detection (caries detection level) · Patients with permanent posterior teeth, proximal surfaces assessed clinically (in vivo)

Under in vivo conditions, sensor-based digital bitewing radiography had a pooled specificity of 0.93 (95% CI 0.77, 0.98) for proximal caries detection at the caries detection level; ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review
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Not applicable (single-group prevalence) vs Not applicable

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

Fixed-effect pooled dental caries prevalence was 57.0% (95% CI 56.4% to 57.6%).

1 finding from 1 review

Systemic sclerosis (SSc / scleroderma) vs SSc-free individuals (controls)

Periodontitis (prevalence) · Adults (general and hospital populations assessed in case-control studies)

Periodontitis prevalence is significantly higher in systemic sclerosis patients than controls (OR 7.01); certainty ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

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

Diagnostic accuracy for proximal caries detection (1/3 dentin detection level) · Extracted permanent posterior teeth with proximal surfaces (in vitro)

Under in vitro conditions, conventional F-speed bitewing radiography had a summary ROC AUC of 0.98 for proximal caries detection at the 1/3 dentin detection level; ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review
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1-19 remaining teeth vs 20-32 remaining teeth

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

In prospective cohorts, adults with 1-19 teeth had a higher cumulative incidence of all-cause mortality than adults with 20-32 teeth (RR 1.76, 95% CI 1.41 to 2.19; 8 cohort studies, I2=94%); GRADE per-analysis ratings reported in Supplementary File 7 (not available in provided sources).

1 finding from 1 review

Direct composite resin restoration vs Amalgam restoration

Secondary caries · People with permanent or adult posterior teeth requiring restoration (parallel-group trials involved children aged 6 to 12 years)

Direct composite resin restoration showed no clear difference in secondary caries compared with amalgam restoration; GRADE not reported.

3 findings from 1 review