What do systematic reviews say?

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs Silver nitrate plus fluoride varnish

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) showed no clear difference in caries arrest compared with silver nitrate plus fluoride varnish (low certainty).

• Topical silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for preventing and managing dental caries in children and adults 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  18 months · Primary dentition (coronal)
  MD -0.10 [-0.51, 0.31]
  1 study · 1070 participants
  Low

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs Chlorhexidine varnish

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Topical silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for preventing and managing dental caries in children and adults 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No studies reported data for this outcome in this comparison
  0 studies
  No studies found

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs Sealants or resin infiltration

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Topical silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for preventing and managing dental caries in children and adults 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Primary and permanent dentition
  No studies reported data in either dentition type
  0 studies
  No studies found

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs placebo or no treatment

It is very uncertain whether silver diamine fluoride (SDF) changes caries arrest compared with placebo or no treatment (very low certainty).

• Topical silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for preventing and managing dental caries in children and adults 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  36 months · Permanent dentition (coronal)
  MD 0.20 [0.00, 0.40]
  1 study · 373 participants
  Very low
• Topical silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for preventing and managing dental caries in children and adults 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 months · Permanent dentition (root)
  MD 0.24 [0.12, 0.36]
  1 study · 158 participants
  Very low
• Topical silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for preventing and managing dental caries in children and adults 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 to 36 months · Primary dentition
  MD 0.86 [0.39, 1.33]
  2 studies · 841 participants
  Low

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs Restoration (restorative treatment)

It is very uncertain whether silver diamine fluoride (SDF) changes caries arrest compared with restoration (restorative treatment) (very low certainty).

• Topical silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for preventing and managing dental caries in children and adults 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  12 months · Primary dentition (coronal)
  OR 0.03 [0.01, 0.10]
  1 study · 98 participants
  Very low

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs Glass ionomer cement (GIC) plus fluoride varnish

It is very uncertain whether silver diamine fluoride (SDF) changes caries arrest compared with glass ionomer cement (GIC) plus fluoride varnish (very low certainty).

• Topical silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for preventing and managing dental caries in children and adults 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  6 months · Primary dentition (coronal)
  OR 1.89 [0.61, 5.87]
  1 study · 69 participants
  Very low

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs Fluoride varnish

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Topical silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for preventing and managing dental caries in children and adults 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Permanent dentition (root)
  No studies reported data in this dentition type
  0 studies
  No studies found
• Topical silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for preventing and managing dental caries in children and adults 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Permanent dentition (coronal)
  No studies reported data in this dentition type
  0 studies
  No studies found
• Topical silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for preventing and managing dental caries in children and adults 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  30 months · Primary dentition
  MD -0.13 [-0.87, 0.61]
  1 study · 309 participants
  Very low

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs Atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) with glass ionomer cement (GIC) or glass ionomer material

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Topical silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for preventing and managing dental caries in children and adults 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Permanent dentition
  No studies reported this outcome in this dentition type
  0 studies
  No studies found
• Topical silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for preventing and managing dental caries in children and adults 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 months · Primary dentition
  OR 1.13 [0.52, 2.45]
  1 study · 143 participants
  Very low

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) plus fluoride varnish vs Sealants plus fluoride varnish (with or without restorations)

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) plus fluoride varnish showed no clear difference in caries arrest compared with sealants plus fluoride varnish (with or without restorations) (low certainty).

• Topical silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for preventing and managing dental caries in children and adults 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 months · Mixed dentition (coronal)
  MD 0.11 [-0.01, 0.22]
  1 study · 413 participants
  Low

SDF (given at a particular frequency, concentration, or duration) vs SDF (given at a different frequency, concentration, or duration)

• Topical silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for preventing and managing dental caries in children and adults 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  12 to 30 months · Primary dentition
  In 1 study (45 children), 4 applications of 38% SDF at 1-monthly intervals resulted in fewer surfaces with active caries compared with 2 applications at 6-monthly intervals (MD 1.04 surfaces, 95% CI 0.23 to 1.85), and…
  4 studies · 1360 participants
  Very low