Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

1,809 questions · 1,956 findings · 194 reviews

No studies found 422 · 21.6%GRADE not reported 427 · 21.8%Very low 353 · 18%Low 397 · 20.3%Moderate 293 · 15%High 64 · 3.3%

NSAIDs (ketorolac oral rinse; systemic celecoxib) vs placebo or no treatment

Clinical resolution (oral lesion not completely resolved) · People with a diagnosis of oral leukoplakia
1 finding from 1 review
  • SoF 3, Clinical resolution (not completely resolved) at 3 months: '1 study evaluated systemic treatment and 1 evaluated topical treatment. Neither found benefit for NSAIDs.' No GRADE. Effects text: celecoxib…
    2 studies
    GRADE not reported

Motivational interview plus oral health education vs Oral health education

Oral health knowledge (1-9 scale) · People with serious mental illness (all included participants had schizophrenia); majority aged 18 to 65 years per NIMH 1987, or with…

Motivational interview plus oral health education led to higher knowledge: Average score (Oral Health Knowledge Questionnaire, high… compared with oral health education; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

NSAIDs (ketorolac oral rinse; systemic celecoxib) vs placebo or no treatment

Malignant transformation (oral cancer development) · People with a diagnosis of oral leukoplakia
1 finding from 1 review
  • SoF 3 (NSAIDs vs placebo), Cancer development: SoF cell 'Not measured'. Effects text: cancer development was among outcomes in Papadimitrakopoulou 2008 (celecoxib) but did not occur in either arm, probably because of…
    1 study
    GRADE not reported

Motivational interview plus oral health education vs Oral health education

Oral health: Not brushing teeth twice a day · People with serious mental illness (all included participants had schizophrenia); majority aged 18 to 65 years per NIMH 1987, or with…

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Motivational interview plus oral health education vs Oral health education

Oral health: Not having seen a dentist in the past year · People with serious mental illness (all included participants had schizophrenia); majority aged 18 to 65 years per NIMH 1987, or with…

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Any antifungal intervention for the treatment of oral candidiasis vs Placebo, no treatment, or another active antifungal intervention

Cost of oral care · Patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy with overt oral candidiasis

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Gamified oral health interventions (mobile apps, serious games, augmented reality, game-based education) vs Non-digital gamified oral health interventions (card/board games, storytelling, printed aids)

Long-term behavior change and overall oral health outcomes · Children or adolescents

Digital gamified interventions appear more effective than non-digital alternatives for long-term behavior change and oral health outcomes, but the evidence is narrative and ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review
  • The Application of Gamification in Children's Oral Health Management: Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes
    Long-term follow-up (sustained behavior change) · Schools, dental clinics, and mobile-app user-testing environments
    Digital-based interventions were more effective in fostering long-term behavior change compared with nondigital alternatives and consistently outperformed nondigital alternatives in improving oral health outcomes;…
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Gamified oral health interventions (mobile apps, serious games, augmented reality, game-based education) vs Conventional or traditional oral health education, or non-gamified interventions (comparator varied; several studies were single-arm/uncontrolled)

Adherence to oral hygiene routines by people with ID or their carers · Children or adolescents

Gamified interventions appear to increase children's engagement and adherence to oral hygiene routines, but the evidence is narrative and ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review
  • The Application of Gamification in Children's Oral Health Management: Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes
    Post-intervention (predominantly short-term; long-term follow-up in a minority of studies) · School-based settings, specialized dental clinics, and home-based environments
    The regular use rate was significantly higher (72.4%) in the gamified mobile health app group than in the nongamified intervention group (48.3%) [Zolfaghari 2021]; quiz-based challenges in mobile apps encouraged higher…
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Gamified oral health interventions (mobile apps, serious games, augmented reality, game-based education) vs Conventional or traditional oral health education, or non-gamified interventions (comparator varied; several studies were single-arm/uncontrolled)

Plaque index (PI) / oral hygiene · Children or adolescents

Gamified interventions appear to improve plaque control and oral hygiene status in children versus conventional methods, but the evidence is narrative and ungraded (individual-study P values only).

1 finding from 1 review
  • The Application of Gamification in Children's Oral Health Management: Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes
    Post-intervention (predominantly short-term; long-term follow-up in a minority of studies) · School-based settings, specialized dental clinics, and home-based environments
    In the gamified mobile health app group, plaque control was superior (P<.05) compared with the conventional method group [Zolfaghari 2021]; a gamified/reminder sticker-book group showed a significant improvement in…
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Gamified oral health interventions (mobile apps, serious games, augmented reality, game-based education) vs Conventional or traditional oral health education, or non-gamified interventions (comparator varied; several studies were single-arm/uncontrolled)

Oral health knowledge (1-9 scale) · Children or adolescents

Gamified interventions appear to improve children's oral health knowledge compared with conventional education, but the evidence is narrative and ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review
  • The Application of Gamification in Children's Oral Health Management: Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes
    Post-intervention (predominantly short-term; long-term follow-up in a minority of studies) · School-based settings, specialized dental clinics, and home-based environments
    The effectiveness of digital-based interventions was generally positive, with 38% (9/24) of the experimental studies reporting improvements in oral health knowledge and behaviors; game-based teaching significantly…
    9 studies
    GRADE not reported

Gamified oral health interventions (mobile apps, serious games, augmented reality, game-based education) vs Conventional or traditional oral health education, or non-gamified interventions (comparator varied; several studies were single-arm/uncontrolled)

Oral hygiene behavior (brushing habits, preventive dental visits, dietary choices) · Children or adolescents

Gamified interventions appear to improve oral hygiene behaviors (brushing habits, preventive dental visits) in children, but the evidence is narrative and ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review
  • The Application of Gamification in Children's Oral Health Management: Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes
    Post-intervention (predominantly short-term; long-term follow-up in a minority of studies) · School-based settings, specialized dental clinics, and home-based environments
    A gesture-based motion-capture game enhanced brushing independence and skill retention (P<.001) [Kang 2021]; 58.8% of caregivers reported their children brushed more often when using gamified applications [France…
    Studies not reported
    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)

Oral mucositis (severe) · All patients with cancer who are receiving treatment

Oral cryotherapy (ice chips, ice-cold water, ice cubes or crushed… probably leads to lower oral mucositis (severe) compared with control (no treatment or standard/usual oral care, e.g. saline rinse) (moderate certainty).

3 findings from 1 review

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)

Oral mucositis (mean severity on WHO 0 to 4 scale) · All patients with cancer who are receiving treatment

It is very uncertain whether oral cryotherapy (ice chips, ice-cold water, ice cubes or crushed… changes oral mucositis (mean severity on WHO 0 to 4 scale) compared with control (no treatment or standard/usual oral care, e.g. saline rinse) (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

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)

Oral pain · All patients with cancer who are receiving treatment
3 findings from 1 review

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)

Oral mucositis (any severity) · All patients with cancer who are receiving treatment

Oral cryotherapy (ice chips, ice-cold water, ice cubes or crushed… showed no clear difference in oral mucositis (any severity) compared with control (no treatment or standard/usual oral care, e.g. saline rinse) (low certainty).

3 findings from 1 review

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)

Oral mucositis (moderate to severe) · All patients with cancer who are receiving treatment

Oral cryotherapy (ice chips, ice-cold water, ice cubes or crushed… showed no clear difference in oral mucositis (moderate to severe) compared with control (no treatment or standard/usual oral care, e.g. saline rinse) (low certainty).

3 findings from 1 review

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)

Number of days unable to take medicine orally · All patients with cancer who are receiving treatment

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Theory-based oral health education/promotion interventions (HBM, TPB, SCT, HAPA, TTM, PMT, SOC, PRECEDE-PROCEED, MI) vs Control (waitlist, routine/standard oral health education, or minimal intervention)

Self-efficacy related to oral health · school‐age children and adolescents

Theory-based educational interventions significantly improved oral health self-efficacy (SMD 1.49; low certainty), though between-study heterogeneity was very high.

1 finding from 1 review

Theory-based oral health education/promotion interventions (HBM, TPB, SCT, HAPA, TTM, PMT, SOC, PRECEDE-PROCEED, MI) vs Control (waitlist, routine/standard oral health education, or minimal intervention)

Oral health attitudes (1-7 scale) · school‐age children and adolescents

Theory-based interventions significantly improved oral health attitude (SMD 9.32; low certainty); the very large effect warrants cautious interpretation.

1 finding from 1 review

Theory-based oral health education/promotion interventions (HBM, TPB, SCT, HAPA, TTM, PMT, SOC, PRECEDE-PROCEED, MI) vs Control (waitlist, routine/standard oral health education, or minimal intervention)

Oral health-related quality of life · school‐age children and adolescents

Theory-based interventions significantly improved oral health-related quality of life (SMD 7.38; low certainty), with very high heterogeneity.

1 finding from 1 review