What do systematic reviews say?

EGFR monoclonal antibody (cetuximab or nimotuzumab) plus standard therapy (radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy) vs Standard therapy alone (radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy)

EGFR monoclonal antibody (cetuximab or nimotuzumab) plus standard… probably leads to lower locoregional control compared with standard therapy alone (radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy) (moderate certainty).

• Interventions for the treatment of oral and oropharyngeal cancers: targeted therapy and immunotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 to 70 months
  HR 0.68 [0.52, 0.89]
  1 study · 424 participants
  Moderate

Oral cryotherapy (ice chips, ice-cold water, ice cubes or crushed ice held in the mouth during cancer treatment) vs no intervention or control intervention (control)

It is very uncertain whether oral cryotherapy (ice chips, ice-cold water, ice cubes or crushed… changes normalcy of diet (days of total parenteral nutrition, TPN) compared with control (no treatment or standard/usual oral care, e.g. saline rinse) (very low certainty).

• Interventions for preventing oral mucositis in patients with cancer receiving treatment: oral cryotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  High-dose melphalan-based treatment prior to HSCT (haematological cancers)
  MD -2.18 [-4.33, -0.03]
  1 study · 78 participants
  Very low
• Interventions for preventing oral mucositis in patients with cancer receiving treatment: oral cryotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Fluorouracil (5FU) treatment for solid cancers
  Summary of findings for the main comparison (5FU solid cancers): Normalcy of diet (days of total parenteral nutrition) - 'No studies assessed this outcome'.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Pilocarpine vs Artificial saliva

• Parasympathomimetic drugs for the treatment of salivary gland dysfunction due to radiotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Davies 1994 assessed dysgeusia and dysphagia; pilocarpine reported more effective than mucin-based artificial saliva for dysgeusia. No pooled data.
  1 study · 20 participants
  GRADE not reported

Fixed-appliance orthodontic treatment incorporating surgically assisted orthodontics (adjunctive surgical procedure: corticotomy, micro-osteoperforation or interseptal bone reduction) to increase the rate of tooth movement vs Conventional orthodontic appliance treatment

• Surgical adjunctive procedures for accelerating orthodontic treatment 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 hours to 28 days
  Results: 'Pain experience was compared between surgical and non‐surgical cases in a single study (Alikhani 2013). Within 24 hours of appliance activation and canine retraction, both groups reported higher levels of…
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Barrier techniques (gloves/plasters) vs No treatment

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for the cessation of non‐nutritive sucking habits in children 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes
  There were no studies that looked at barrier techniques or pacifier withdrawal.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Sedation (sedative agents administered via any route) vs General anaesthesia

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Sedation versus general anaesthesia for provision of dental treatment to patients younger than 18 years 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes
  no estimate extracted
  0 studies
  No studies found

Any intervention for KCOT (e.g. enucleation), alone or combined with an adjunctive therapy (ostectomy, cryotherapy, or Carnoy's solution) vs A different intervention (e.g. enucleation versus marsupialisation), or the same surgical intervention without the adjunctive therapy

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for the treatment of keratocystic odontogenic tumours 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No randomised controlled trials that met the inclusion criteria were identified. In view of the fact that no studies were identified, no data were available for analysis.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Non-specific immunotherapy (recombinant interleukin-2 or BCG cell wall preparation) plus standard therapy vs Standard therapy alone (radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy)

• Interventions for the treatment of oral and oropharyngeal cancers: targeted therapy and immunotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 to 70 months · Recombinant interleukin-2 + neoadjuvant chemotherapy (Mantovani 1998), tumour response
  Response to treatment (Mantovani 1998; neoadjuvant chemotherapy + rIL-2 vs chemotherapy alone): complete response 4/13 vs 3/15; partial response 6/13 vs 9/15. Narrative only; no GRADE rating.
  1 study · 33 participants
  GRADE not reported

Oral cryotherapy (ice chips, ice-cold water, ice cubes or crushed ice held in the mouth during cancer treatment) vs no intervention or control intervention (control)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for preventing oral mucositis in patients with cancer receiving treatment: oral cryotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Fluorouracil (5FU) treatment for solid cancers
  No studies reported the number of days unable to take medicine orally (whole review).
  0 studies
  No studies found

Pilocarpine vs Artificial saliva

• Parasympathomimetic drugs for the treatment of salivary gland dysfunction due to radiotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Davies 1994 (cross-over, 20 participants): mean improvement in VAS score 22.5 mm with pilocarpine vs 15.2 mm with artificial saliva (100 mm scale). The improvement was greater with pilocarpine but was not statistically…
  1 study · 20 participants
  GRADE not reported

Psychological interventions (positive and negative reinforcement) vs no treatment

Psychological interventions (positive and negative reinforcement) led to higher sucking cessation (long term) compared with no treatment; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for the cessation of non‐nutritive sucking habits in children 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Long term (12 months or more)
  RR 6.25 [1.65, 23.65]
  1 study · 57 participants
  GRADE not reported

Psychological intervention (positive reinforcement) vs Alternative psychological intervention (negative reinforcement)

• Interventions for the cessation of non‐nutritive sucking habits in children 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Long term (12 months or more)
  Larsson 1972, comparing positive reinforcement with negative reinforcement, also provided long-term data. Again, no statistically significant between-group differences were shown (Analysis 6.2).
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Psychological interventions vs no treatment

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for the cessation of non‐nutritive sucking habits in children 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Occlusion: Not reported.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Oral cryotherapy (ice chips, ice-cold water, ice cubes or crushed ice held in the mouth during cancer treatment) vs no intervention or control intervention (control)

It is very uncertain whether oral cryotherapy (ice chips, ice-cold water, ice cubes or crushed… changes duration of interruptions to cancer treatment compared with control (no treatment or standard/usual oral care, e.g. saline rinse) (very low certainty).

• Interventions for preventing oral mucositis in patients with cancer receiving treatment: oral cryotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Fluorouracil (5FU) treatment for solid cancers
  MD -8 [-9.26, -6.74]
  1 study · 80 participants
  Very low

Fixed prostheses cemented to prepared teeth after extraction or decoronation of the ankylosed teeth vs Conventional orthodontic treatment or follow-up with no specific treatment for ankylosis

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for treating traumatised ankylosed permanent front teeth 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes
  no estimate extracted
  0 studies
  No studies found

Orthodontic appliances (palatal crib) vs no treatment

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for the cessation of non‐nutritive sucking habits in children 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Correction of posterior crossbite was not measured in this study despite being a well recognised feature in the malocclusion of a child with a thumb-sucking habit.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Orthodontic appliances (palatal crib) vs no treatment

It is very uncertain whether orthodontic appliances (palatal crib) changes occlusion (change in overbite, short term) compared with no treatment (very low certainty).

• Interventions for the cessation of non‐nutritive sucking habits in children 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Short term (3 months)
  MD 4.10 [2.93, 5.27]
  1 study · 24 participants
  Very low

Fixed-appliance orthodontic treatment incorporating surgically assisted orthodontics (adjunctive surgical procedure: corticotomy, micro-osteoperforation or interseptal bone reduction) to increase the rate of tooth movement vs Conventional orthodontic appliance treatment

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Surgical adjunctive procedures for accelerating orthodontic treatment 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Results: 'Our prespecified secondary outcomes of patient satisfaction, improvement in occlusion, and prolonged stability of treatment were not measured in the trials.'
  0 studies
  No studies found

Cryotherapy (ice chips) 30 minutes vs Cryotherapy (ice chips) 60 minutes

It is very uncertain whether oral cryotherapy for 30 minutes changes oral mucositis (any severity) compared with oral cryotherapy for 60 minutes (very low certainty).

• Interventions for preventing oral mucositis in patients with cancer receiving treatment: oral cryotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes
  RR 0.89 [0.62, 1.29]
  1 study · 178 participants
  Very low

Maxillary sinus lift (augmentation) with long implants vs Short implants (5 to 8.5 mm) without sinus augmentation

• Interventions for replacing missing teeth: augmentation procedures of the maxillary sinus 2014 · Cochrane All outcomes

  5 months after loading
  Patient satisfaction was reported by one trial (Felice 2011); no usable pooled data.
  1 study
  GRADE not reported