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Each row is one question a systematic review asked: who, what, compared with what, and which outcome, with the effect it found and how certain that is. Words match anywhere in the field.
74 questions in 15 reviews · cluster CL0288
current versionsNo studies 18 · 24.3%Ungraded 49 · 66.2%Very low 3 · 4.1%Low 2 · 2.7%Moderate 2 · 2.7%High 0 · 0%
Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.
Intervention categories, outcome domains and clusters are a proposed key pending human validation. Clear all filters
| Question | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Pilocarpine vs No treatment/placebo Salivary flow rate (stimulated) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region · Any time point Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy (2017) · Cochrane | No evidence of a difference between treatment groups for stimulated salivary flow at any time point (Analysis 1.5) | 8 studies | Ungraded |
Bethanechol vs Placebo Salivary flow rate (unstimulated, ml/min) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region · 2 months postRT Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy (2017) · Cochrane | MD 0.19 [0.06, 0.32] | 1 study · 97 participants | Ungraded |
Bethanechol vs Artificial saliva Salivary flow rate (stimulated, ml/min) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region · End of RT Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy (2017) · Cochrane | MD 0.13 [-0.03, 0.29] | 1 study · 32 participants | Ungraded |
Amifostine 200 mg/m2 three times weekly vs Amifostine 200 mg/m2 five times weekly Salivary flow rate · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy (2017) · Cochrane | No salivary flow rate data related to the effectiveness of different doses of amifostine were reported. | 0 studies | No studies |
Amifostine vs No treatment/placebo Salivary flow rate (stimulated) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region · End of RT to 12 months postRT Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy (2017) · Cochrane | Insufficient evidence of a difference in stimulated salivary flow at any time point: end of RT MD -0.09 (95% CI -1.48 to 1.30); 3 months MD 0.38 (95% CI -1.43 to 2.19); 12 months MD 0.82 (95% CI -0.47 to 2.11);… | 2 studies | Ungraded |
Amifostine vs No treatment/placebo Salivary flow rate (incidence of > 0.1 g saliva/5 min, unstimulated) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region · 12 months postRT Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy (2017) · Cochrane | RR 1.45 [1.13, 1.86] | 1 study · 175 participants | Ungraded |
Venalot Depot (coumarin plus troxerutin) vs Placebo Salivary flow rate · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy (2017) · Cochrane | Sialometric data dropped to an unmeasurable level in both groups; abandoned as a marker of efficacy (Grotz 2001) | 1 study | Ungraded |
Biperiden plus pilocarpine vs No treatment Salivary flow rate (unstimulated) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region · End of RT Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy (2017) · Cochrane | Insufficient evidence, from a single trial of 60 participants, to determine the effect on unstimulated salivary flow rate at the end of RT (Rode 1999; Analysis 2.1) | 1 study · 60 participants | Ungraded |
Selenium vs No intervention Salivary flow rate · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy (2017) · Cochrane | No data on salivary flow rates were reported. | 0 studies | No studies |
Antimicrobial lozenge vs Placebo Salivary flow rate · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy (2017) · Cochrane | No data on salivary flow rates were reported. | 0 studies | No studies |
Monitoring (any means of observation, supervision, keeping under review, measuring or testing at intervals) vs No monitoring Dental state: No clinically important change in plaque index · People with serious mental illness (all included participants had schizophrenia); majority aged 18 to 65 years per… Oral health education (advice and training) for people with serious mental illness (2016) · Cochrane | See comment; Not estimable; 0 (0 studies); no study reported useable data | 0 studies | No studies |
Pilocarpine hydrochloride (parasympathomimetic) vs Placebo Salivary flow rates · Patients with radiation-induced salivary gland dysfunction Parasympathomimetic drugs for the treatment of salivary gland dysfunction due to radiotherapy (2015) · Cochrane | Only two studies measured salivary flow rates (Johnson 1993; LeVeque 1993); no usable summary/pooled data reported. | 2 studies | Ungraded |
Intraoral device releasing Biotene Oral Balance gel vs Usual care (no intraoral device) Salivary flow (unstimulated whole saliva) · Adults seeking treatment for the symptom of dry mouth (xerostomia) due to any cause (e.g. medication, Sjogren's… Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies (2011) · Cochrane | MD 0.05 [-0.04, 0.14] | 1 study · 30 participants | Ungraded |
Chewing gum (mechanical saliva stimulant) vs Saliva substitute spray Salivary flow (unstimulated whole saliva) · Adults seeking treatment for the symptom of dry mouth (xerostomia) due to any cause (e.g. medication, Sjogren's… Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies (2011) · Cochrane | MD 0.01 [-0.01, 0.04] | 2 studies | Ungraded |
Buffered 'Prophylin' prophylactic gel vs Placebo (unbuffered gel / water) Salivary flow (salivary secretion rate) · Adults seeking treatment for the symptom of dry mouth (xerostomia) due to any cause (e.g. medication, Sjogren's… Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies (2011) · Cochrane | Attempts to measure saliva secretion failed because the elderly participants were unable to co-operate. | 1 study · 14 participants | Ungraded |
Commercial mouthcare system (Biotene Oral Balance / Xerostom) vs Usual care or CMC-based control Salivary flow (unstimulated whole saliva) · Adults seeking treatment for the symptom of dry mouth (xerostomia) due to any cause (e.g. medication, Sjogren's… Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies (2011) · Cochrane | MD 0.02 [-0.02, 0.06] | 2 studies | Ungraded |
V6 chewing gum vs PTC chewing gum (xylitol/sorbitol/mannitol) Salivary flow (saliva secretion) · Adults seeking treatment for the symptom of dry mouth (xerostomia) due to any cause (e.g. medication, Sjogren's… Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies (2011) · Cochrane | Olsson 1991 (crossover, high risk of bias, n=14): both gums increased saliva secretion, peaking 17.5 minutes after chewing started; significant treatment-by-period interaction; no per-group data presented. | 1 study · 14 participants | Ungraded |
Physostigmine gel (1.8 mg) vs Placebo gel Salivary flow (saliva secretion) · Adults seeking treatment for the symptom of dry mouth (xerostomia) due to any cause (e.g. medication, Sjogren's… Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies (2011) · Cochrane | Approximately fivefold increase in saliva secretion; mean AUC salivary volume 43.4 +/- 9.4 (physostigmine) vs 8.3 +/- 6.6 (placebo), P < 0.001. Adverse effects: 8 mild gastrointestinal upsets, 1 sweating. | 1 study · 17 participants | Ungraded |
Pilocarpine lozenge (3 mg or 5 mg) vs Placebo lozenge Salivary flow (saliva production) · Adults seeking treatment for the symptom of dry mouth (xerostomia) due to any cause (e.g. medication, Sjogren's… · Single dose (up to 3 hours) Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies (2011) · Cochrane | Statistically significant increase in saliva production vs placebo (P <= 0.05); maximum salivary output 60 to 90 minutes post-lozenge; no data presented. | 1 study · 33 participants | Ungraded |
Intraoral device releasing Biotene Oral Balance gel vs Manually administered bolus of the same gel Salivary flow / oral health · Adults seeking treatment for the symptom of dry mouth (xerostomia) due to any cause (e.g. medication, Sjogren's… Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies (2011) · Cochrane | No difference between device and bolus in unstimulated whole saliva, oral microbial profile or generalised inflammation. | 1 study · 22 participants | Ungraded |
V6 chewing gum / mucin chewing gum vs Placebo gum (and between each other) Salivary flow (unstimulated whole saliva) · Adults seeking treatment for the symptom of dry mouth (xerostomia) due to any cause (e.g. medication, Sjogren's… Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies (2011) · Cochrane | Aagaard 1992 (crossover, n=43): approximately 50% of participants had an increase in unstimulated whole saliva from all products; unclear how many completed the trial; no usable data. | 1 study · 43 participants | Ungraded |
Effervescent tablets vs No treatment (immersion in distilled water) Microbial counts (total aerobes, anaerobes, yeasts) · Complete denture (CD) wearers in a nursing home Interventions for cleaning dentures in adults (2009) · Cochrane | Moore 1984: soaking methods resulted in significant reduction of total aerobes and anaerobes versus distilled water (paired t test, P < 0.05); three soaking methods (Clorox and Calgon, Polident, Effedent) were less… | 1 study · 12 participants | Ungraded |
Enzyme cleanser vs Placebo / sham solution Microbial counts (hyphae and bacteria) · Institutionalised elderly wearing maxillary complete dentures (CD) · 12 weeks Interventions for cleaning dentures in adults (2009) · Cochrane | Lower hyphal and bacterial scores were also found for 'E' when compared with 'Plac' after 12 weeks. It was not possible to extract adequate data as the investigators did not provide standard deviations. | 1 study | Ungraded |
Enzyme cleanser vs Placebo / sham solution Denture plaque (biofilm) score · Institutionalised elderly wearing maxillary complete dentures (CD) · 5 weeks; 3 months Interventions for cleaning dentures in adults (2009) · Cochrane | Both interventions reduced biofilm scores after 2 weeks. However, plaque scores were significantly lower for 'E' after 5 weeks (P < 0.05) and 3 months (P < 0.01), as assessed by Chi2 test. It was not possible to… | 1 study | Ungraded |