Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

42 questions · 72 findings · 17 reviews · All outcomes

No studies found 4 · 5.6%GRADE not reported 60 · 83.3%Very low 6 · 8.3%Low 0 · 0%Moderate 2 · 2.8%High 0 · 0%

Lower unemployment rate vs Higher unemployment rate (low <=5% / medium >5-10% / high >10%)

Odds of higher caries (DMFT) category · 12-year-old children across European countries (national/regional epidemiological surveys, 2011-2022)

Unemployment rate was not independently associated with DMFT category in the adjusted model (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.44 to 2.23); not GRADE-rated.

1 finding from 1 review

Populations in countries with a lower Human Development Index (high category, HDI <0.800) vs Populations in countries with a higher Human Development Index (very high, HDI >=0.800)

Caries experience (mean DMFT) · Adults aged 19-60 years

Pooled caries experience (DMFT) was similar in very-high-HDI and high-HDI countries, and meta-regression found no significant association between national HDI and DMFT; ungraded observational evidence with very high heterogeneity.

3 findings from 1 review

High maternal allostatic load (chronic stress) and low socioeconomic status vs Lower maternal allostatic load

Dental caries in children · Mother-child pairs

In one cross-sectional study, higher maternal allostatic load was associated with child dental caries experience and with health-related maternal care-taking behaviours; not pooled (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

A 10-minute film followed by the same 30-minute one-to-one hygienist instruction on sugar consumption and dental health, plus oral hygiene, fluoride and regular visits (a multi-intervention) vs No special instructions (control)

Mean sugar consumption (self-reported, 1 to 5 scale; higher score = more positive behaviour) · Adults newly registered at a group dental practice in a suburban Dutch village, the Netherlands
1 finding from 1 review

Low income vs High income

Prevalence of untreated decay (% DT > 0) · Adults aged 25 years and older in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States

In Australia, low versus high income differed by 11.90 percentage points in prevalence of untreated decay.

5 findings from 1 review
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Low income vs High income

Mean number of decayed teeth (mean DT) · Adults aged 25 years and older in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States

Across four countries, low versus high income differed by 0.44 decayed teeth in mean number of decayed teeth (random-effects meta-analysis; I2=76.4%).

5 findings from 1 review
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Low income vs High income

Prevalence of fair/poor self-rated oral health · Adults aged 25 years and older in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States

Across four countries, low versus high income differed by 15.77 percentage points in prevalence of fair/poor self-rated oral health (random-effects meta-analysis; I2=13.4%).

5 findings from 1 review
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Lower unemployment rate vs Higher unemployment rate (low <=5% / medium >5-10% / high >10%)

Caries experience (mean DMFT) · 12-year-old children across European countries (national/regional epidemiological surveys, 2011-2022)

Mean DMFT tended to increase with unemployment rate (low 1.23, medium 2.08, high 2.38; ANOVA p<.05); descriptive country-level means only, not meta-analyzed or GRADE-rated.

3 findings from 1 review

Prophylactic valaciclovir (lower dose) vs Prophylactic valaciclovir (higher dose)

Presence/absence of HSV oral lesions · Patients being treated for cancer (acute leukaemia; chemotherapy or stem-cell transplantation)

Prophylactic valaciclovir (lower dose) showed no clear difference in presence/absence of HSV oral lesions compared with prophylactic valaciclovir (higher dose); GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Prophylactic valaciclovir (lower dose) vs Prophylactic valaciclovir (higher dose)

Viral isolates · Patients being treated for cancer (acute leukaemia; chemotherapy or stem-cell transplantation)
1 finding from 1 review

Prophylactic valaciclovir (lower dose) vs Prophylactic valaciclovir (higher dose)

Adverse effects · Patients being treated for cancer (acute leukaemia; chemotherapy or stem-cell transplantation)
1 finding from 1 review

Low parental socioeconomic status (SES) vs High parental socioeconomic status (SES)

Early childhood caries (ECC) · Healthy children under 6 years in South Africa

No significant difference in caries odds was found between children of low- versus high-SES parents (meta-analysis reported no difference; pooled estimate in an unavailable supplementary figure; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Low dose rate interstitial radiotherapy vs High dose rate interstitial radiotherapy

Locoregional control · People with primary squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity (ICD-O C01-C06) or oropharynx (ICD-O C09-C10); head and neck cancer trials…

Low dose rate interstitial radiotherapy showed no clear difference in locoregional control compared with high dose rate interstitial radiotherapy; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Lower family socioeconomic status / income vs Higher socioeconomic position

Dental caries · Healthy children and adolescents in the United Arab Emirates

Evidence on socioeconomic status/income and caries was inconsistent: some studies linked lower income to higher caries while others found no association (narrative synthesis; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Low tooth brushing frequency (<2 times/day) vs High tooth brushing frequency (>=2 times/day)

Early childhood caries (ECC) · Healthy children under 6 years of age (6 months to 6 years); preschool children

After excluding an extreme outlier (Alhabdan 2018), the association between low brushing frequency and ECC remained statistically significant (pooled OR approximately 2.0, p=0.003; I2=87.5%); the exact estimate and its CI were not reported; ungraded.

2 findings from 1 review

Lower parental (maternal/paternal) education vs Higher parental education

Dental caries · Healthy children and adolescents in the United Arab Emirates

The association between parental education and caries was inconsistent; father's (but not consistently mother's) education was inversely associated with caries in some studies (narrative synthesis; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Low maternal education (<=6 years of schooling) vs Higher maternal education (>6 years)

Poor oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) · Children aged 3-12 years

Lower maternal education was associated with poor OHRQoL (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.00-1.23; 4 studies; high heterogeneity; CI lower bound at the null; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review