Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

54 questions · 54 findings · 5 reviews · Oral medicine and oral cancer

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No studies found 5 · 9.3%GRADE not reported 37 · 68.5%Very low 12 · 22.2%Low 0 · 0%Moderate 0 · 0%High 0 · 0%

Zinc supplements vs Acupuncture

Outcome not reported · Patients with taste disturbances (dysgeusia/hypogeusia; idiopathic, zinc-deficient, or secondary to chronic renal failure)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Interventions for managing taste disturbances 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
Authors' conclusions: We were unable to draw any conclusions regarding the superiority of zinc supplements or acupuncture as none of the trials compared these interventions.
0 studies
No studies found

0.2% zinc sulphate toothpaste vs Placebo toothpaste (without zinc)

Volatile sulphur compounds (VSC), halimeter · Adolescents and adults aged over 16 years with clinical or self-assessed halitosis of oral origin; excluding induced or physiological…

0.2% zinc sulphate toothpaste led to lower volatile sulphur compounds (VSC) compared with placebo toothpaste (without zinc); GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes
4 weeks
MD -11.3 [-20.45, -2.15]
1 study · 188 participants
GRADE not reported

0.2% zinc sulphate toothpaste vs Placebo toothpaste (without zinc)

Dentist-reported organoleptic test (OLT) score (scale 0 to 5) · Adolescents and adults aged over 16 years with clinical or self-assessed halitosis of oral origin; excluding induced or physiological…

It is very uncertain whether 0.2% zinc sulphate toothpaste changes dentist-reported organoleptic test (OLT) score (scale 0 to 5) compared with placebo toothpaste (without zinc) (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes
mean 4 weeks
MD -1.31 [-1.39, -1.23]
1 study · 187 participants
Very low

Polaprezinc vs Azulene oral rinse

Salivary flow rate · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
No data on salivary flow rates were reported.
0 studies
No studies found

Polaprezinc vs Azulene oral rinse

Side effects · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
No data on adverse events were reported.
0 studies
No studies found

Polaprezinc vs Azulene oral rinse

Survival · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region

1 finding from 1 review

Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
Tumour response by RECIST criteria reported for a specific group of patients only; no usable survival data (Watanabe 2010)
1 study
GRADE not reported

Polaprezinc vs Azulene oral rinse

Taste disturbance (severe, > 2 on 0-3 scale) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region

Polaprezinc led to lower taste disturbance (severe, > 2 on 0-3 scale) compared with azulene oral rinse; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
Over RT period
RR 0.12 [0.02, 0.83]
1 study · 31 participants
GRADE not reported

Polaprezinc vs Azulene oral rinse

Xerostomia (severe) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region

Polaprezinc led to lower xerostomia (severe) compared with azulene oral rinse; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
End of RT
RR 0.17 [0.04, 0.65]
1 study · 31 participants
GRADE not reported

Polaprezinc vs Azulene oral rinse

Oral pain · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region

Polaprezinc led to lower oral pain (severe, > 2 on 0-3 scale) compared with azulene oral rinse; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
Over RT period
RR 0.36 [0.17, 0.77]
1 study · 31 participants
GRADE not reported

Polaprezinc vs Azulene oral rinse

Disability of oral intake · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region

Polaprezinc showed no clear difference in disability of oral intake compared with azulene oral rinse; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
Over RT period
RR 0.31 [0.07, 1.31]
1 study · 31 participants
GRADE not reported

Polaprezinc vs Azulene

Oral mucositis (moderate to severe) · Patients with cancer receiving radiotherapy, chemotherapy or targeted therapies

Polaprezinc led to lower oral mucositis (moderate to severe) compared with azulene; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Interventions for preventing oral mucositis for patients with cancer receiving treatment 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
Median 28 days
RR 0.43 [0.22, 0.84]
1 study · 31 participants
GRADE not reported

Polaprezinc vs Azulene

Oral mucositis (any severity) · Patients with cancer receiving radiotherapy, chemotherapy or targeted therapies

Polaprezinc showed no clear difference in oral mucositis (any severity) compared with azulene; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Interventions for preventing oral mucositis for patients with cancer receiving treatment 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
Median 28 days
RR 0.82 [0.63, 1.06]
1 study · 31 participants
GRADE not reported

Polaprezinc vs Azulene

Oral mucositis (severe) · Patients with cancer receiving radiotherapy, chemotherapy or targeted therapies

Polaprezinc led to lower oral mucositis (severe) compared with azulene; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Interventions for preventing oral mucositis for patients with cancer receiving treatment 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
Median 28 days
RR 0.09 [0.01, 0.65]
1 study · 31 participants
GRADE not reported

Zinc chloride + sodium chlorite mouthrinse (TriOral) vs Control mouthrinse (containing neither zinc chloride nor sodium chlorite)

Volatile sulphur compounds (VSC), halimeter · Adults over 18 years with a clinical or self-assessed diagnosis of halitosis, without significant comorbidity (e.g. diabetes) or…

1 finding from 1 review

Mouthrinses for the treatment of halitosis 2008 · Cochrane All outcomes
4 weeks
Codipilly 2004: precise data could not be extracted (results presented as graph plots). Reported VSC reductions from baseline for zinc chloride + sodium chlorite (TriOral): 55% (P < 0.01) at 2 weeks and 60% (P < 0.01)…
1 study
GRADE not reported

Zinc chloride + sodium chlorite mouthrinse (TriOral) vs Control mouthrinse (containing neither zinc chloride nor sodium chlorite)

Organoleptic assessment (indirect surrogate salivary organoleptic score) · Adults over 18 years with a clinical or self-assessed diagnosis of halitosis, without significant comorbidity (e.g. diabetes) or…

1 finding from 1 review

Mouthrinses for the treatment of halitosis 2008 · Cochrane All outcomes
4 weeks
Codipilly 2004: only indirect surrogate salivary organoleptic scores were reported (not organoleptic breath scores); no accurate deductions could be made from the reported values.
1 study
GRADE not reported

Zinc sulphate vs placebo

Oral mucositis (severe) · Patients with cancer receiving radiotherapy, chemotherapy or targeted therapies

Zinc sulphate led to lower oral mucositis (severe) compared with placebo; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Interventions for preventing oral mucositis for patients with cancer receiving treatment 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
Median 28 days
RR 0.05 [0, 0.75]
1 study · 27 participants
GRADE not reported

Zinc sulphate vs placebo

Oral mucositis (moderate to severe) · Patients with cancer receiving radiotherapy, chemotherapy or targeted therapies

Zinc sulphate led to lower oral mucositis (moderate to severe) compared with placebo; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Interventions for preventing oral mucositis for patients with cancer receiving treatment 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
Median 28 days
RR 0.36 [0.18, 0.71]
1 study · 27 participants
GRADE not reported

Zinc sulphate vs placebo

Oral mucositis (any severity) · Patients with cancer receiving radiotherapy, chemotherapy or targeted therapies

Zinc sulphate showed no clear difference in oral mucositis (any severity) compared with placebo; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Interventions for preventing oral mucositis for patients with cancer receiving treatment 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
Median 28 days
RR 0.88 [0.69, 1.11]
1 study · 27 participants
GRADE not reported

Abrasive candy; abrasive candy + 2% propolis; abrasive candy + 0.5% zinc gluconate vs Abrasive candy + 1% propolis + 0.25% zinc

Volatile sulphur compounds (VSC), halimeter · Adolescents and adults aged over 16 years with clinical or self-assessed halitosis of oral origin; excluding induced or physiological…

1 finding from 1 review

Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes
Barak 2012 (5-arm RCT) compared abrasive candy, abrasive candy with propolis and abrasive candy with zinc gluconate versus abrasive candy with propolis and zinc; VSC measured by halimeter. We could not use the results…
1 study
GRADE not reported

Zinc vs placebo

Taste discrimination improvement · Patients with taste disturbances (dysgeusia/hypogeusia; idiopathic, zinc-deficient, or secondary to chronic renal failure)

1 finding from 1 review

Interventions for managing taste disturbances 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
Results: Matson 2003 used zinc sulphate for testing taste discrimination (sip and spit method); the trial did not report the details of the placebo group and thus the results could not be meta-analysed. Not GRADE-rated.
1 study
GRADE not reported