What do systematic reviews say?

Sugary drinks/sweets consumption vs Not applicable (single-group prevalence)

About 70% of children with caries in LMICs consumed sugary drinks/sweets (pooled prevalence 0.697, 95% CI 0.478 to 0.877; 7 studies; very high heterogeneity; not GRADE-rated).

• Individual, Family, and Socioeconomic Contributors to Dental Caries in Children from Low- and Middle-Income Countries. 2022 All outcomes

  Low- and middle-income countries (Brazil, Nigeria, Cambodia, Tanzania, Mexico, Ethiopia)
  Prevalence 0.6974 [0.4784, 0.8773]
  7 studies
  GRADE not reported

Primary school-based interventions (one or more of: school health policy, oral health education, healthy school environment, access to oral health services, community involvement) vs usual practice

School-based interventions may reduce the prevalence of dental caries (RR 0.70, favouring intervention), but the certainty of evidence is very low.

• Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and middle-income… 2022 All outcomes

  Post-intervention; follow-up varied across studies (interventions ranged from <2 years to >=2 years and longer) · Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean)
  RR 0.70 [0.53, 0.94]
  4 studies · 2968 participants
  Very low
• Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and middle-income… 2022 All outcomes

  <2 years · Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean) · Intervention duration <2 years
  RR 0.95 [0.75, 1.21]
  2 studies
  GRADE not reported
• Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and middle-income… 2022 All outcomes

  >=2 years · Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean) · Intervention duration >=2 years
  RR 0.58 [0.40, 0.84]
  2 studies
  GRADE not reported

Caregiver help with child tooth brushing vs Not applicable (single-group prevalence)

About 54% of children with caries in LMICs received caregiver help with tooth brushing (pooled prevalence 0.541, 95% CI 0.266 to 0.803; 3 studies; not GRADE-rated).

• Individual, Family, and Socioeconomic Contributors to Dental Caries in Children from Low- and Middle-Income Countries. 2022 All outcomes

  Low- and middle-income countries (Brazil, Nigeria, Cambodia, Tanzania, Mexico, Ethiopia)
  Prevalence 0.5408 [0.2663, 0.8025]
  3 studies · 830 participants
  GRADE not reported

Maternal education attainment vs Not applicable (single-group prevalence)

About 45% of children with caries in LMICs had mothers with secondary or higher education (pooled prevalence 0.450, 95% CI 0.330 to 0.572; 7 studies; not GRADE-rated).

• Individual, Family, and Socioeconomic Contributors to Dental Caries in Children from Low- and Middle-Income Countries. 2022 All outcomes

  Low- and middle-income countries (Brazil, Nigeria, Cambodia, Tanzania, Mexico, Ethiopia) · Secondary and higher education
  Prevalence 0.4496 [0.33, 0.5722]
  7 studies · 3240 participants
  GRADE not reported

Higher JIA disease activity/severity (e.g., high JADAS/activity scores, polyarticular RF-negative subtype, active disease, anti-TNFalpha or cyclosporine medication) vs Lower JIA disease activity / inactive or milder JIA

Some studies suggested greater JIA disease activity/severity (and certain medications) was associated with worse periodontal and caries outcomes, but small samples meant no solid conclusion could be drawn (ungraded).

• Oral health in children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis - a systematic review and meta-analysis. 2019 All outcomes

  Multiple countries (Brazil, Sweden, Germany); paediatric rheumatology/dental settings
  Higher JIA disease activity/severity was associated with worse oral outcomes in several studies: JADAS and global activity scores correlated positively with DMFT and gingival indices [27]; a polyarticular RF-negative…
  Studies not reported
  GRADE not reported

All fluorescence-based devices (red, blue, and green fluorescence combined) vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, or enhanced visual examination)

• Fluorescence devices for the detection of dental caries 2020 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Up to 3 months between index test and reference standard (in vivo studies) · Low dentine-caries prevalence (<=14%)
  DOR 11.10 [6.88, 17.91]
  Studies not reported
  GRADE not reported

All fluorescence-based devices (red, blue, and green fluorescence combined) vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, or enhanced visual examination)

• Fluorescence devices for the detection of dental caries 2020 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Up to 3 months between index test and reference standard (in vivo studies) · High dentine-caries prevalence (>=35%)
  DOR 14.59 [9.18, 23.22]
  Studies not reported
  GRADE not reported

All fluorescence-based devices (red, blue, and green fluorescence combined) vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, or enhanced visual examination)

• Fluorescence devices for the detection of dental caries 2020 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Up to 3 months between index test and reference standard (in vivo studies) · Medium dentine-caries prevalence (15% to 34%)
  DOR 15.39 [11.07, 21.41]
  Studies not reported
  GRADE not reported