What do systematic reviews say?

Traditional screening (referral card given if the inspecting dentist judges the child needs to see a dentist) vs No screening

• School dental screening programmes for oral health 2022 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Milsom 2006 measured prevalence of dental caries as mean number of teeth with active caries in primary teeth (dt) and permanent teeth (DT); post-intervention changes from baseline were not significant, and the authors…
  1 study · 16684 participants
  GRADE not reported

Clinical examination with risk-based recall vs Clinical examination with 6-month recall

Clinical examination with risk-based recall showed no clear difference in dental caries: prevalence of root caries compared with clinical examination with 6-month recall; GRADE not reported.

• Recall intervals for oral health in primary care patients 2020 · Cochrane All outcomes

  4 years
  RR 0.93 [0.76, 1.13]
  1 study · 1306 participants
  GRADE not reported

Clinical examination with risk-based recall vs Clinical examination with 24-month recall

Clinical examination with risk-based recall showed no clear difference in dental caries: prevalence of root caries compared with clinical examination with 24-month recall; GRADE not reported.

• Recall intervals for oral health in primary care patients 2020 · Cochrane All outcomes

  4 years
  RR 1.21 [0.72, 2.03]
  1 study · 247 participants
  GRADE not reported

Clinical examination with 24-month recall vs Clinical examination with 6-month recall

Clinical examination with 24-month recall showed no clear difference in dental caries: prevalence of root caries compared with clinical examination with 6-month recall; GRADE not reported.

• Recall intervals for oral health in primary care patients 2020 · Cochrane All outcomes

  4 years
  RR 1.17 [0.65, 2.11]
  1 study · 238 participants
  GRADE not reported

Clinical examination with 24-month recall vs Clinical examination with 6-month recall

Clinical examination with 24-month recall showed no clear difference in dental caries: prevalence of moderate to extensive caries (ICDAS 3-6) compared with clinical examination with 6-month recall (low certainty).

• Recall intervals for oral health in primary care patients 2020 · Cochrane All outcomes

  4 years
  RR 1.05 [0.92, 1.20]
  1 study · 271 participants
  Low

Clinical examination with risk-based recall vs Clinical examination with 6-month recall

Clinical examination with risk-based recall showed no clear difference in dental caries: prevalence of moderate to extensive caries (ICDAS 3-6) compared with clinical examination with 6-month recall (moderate certainty).

• Recall intervals for oral health in primary care patients 2020 · Cochrane All outcomes

  4 years
  RR 1.04 [0.99, 1.09]
  1 study · 1478 participants
  Moderate

Clinical examination with risk-based recall vs Clinical examination with 24-month recall

Clinical examination with risk-based recall showed no clear difference in dental caries: prevalence of moderate to extensive caries (ICDAS 3-6) compared with clinical examination with 24-month recall (moderate certainty).

• Recall intervals for oral health in primary care patients 2020 · Cochrane All outcomes

  4 years
  RR 1.06 [0.95, 1.19]
  1 study · 279 participants
  Moderate