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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

334 questions · 707 findings · 50 reviews

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No studies found 3 · 0.4%GRADE not reported 667 · 94.3%Very low 31 · 4.4%Low 4 · 0.6%Moderate 2 · 0.3%High 0 · 0%

ADGRL2 gene (aggregate gene-based signal, MAGMA) vs Genome-wide gene background (FDR threshold)

Dental caries (self-reported history) · Japanese adults (present-study direct-to-consumer genetic testing cohort); self-reported disease cases vs controls

Gene-based analysis found ADGRL2 significantly associated with dental caries (FDR q<0.05); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review
  • Genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies two novel loci associated with dental caries. 2024 All outcomes
    Lifelong (germline genotype) · Population-based genetic association study (Japanese direct-to-consumer genetic testing cohort) · MAGMA gene-based test (present study)
    Gene-based association analysis (MAGMA): ADGRL2 was the only gene associated with dental caries at false-discovery-rate q<0.05 (no effect size reported).
    1 study · 45525 participants
    GRADE not reported

Disability (developmental, intellectual, or sensory) vs Persons without disabilities

Dental caries prevalence and severity · Persons with disabilities (children and adults with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, hearing impairment, or multiple disabilities)…

Dental caries prevalence and severity are high among persons with disabilities in Saudi Arabia (60% to over 80%), and the one comparative autism study reported significantly higher caries than controls; synthesized narratively (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

High-frequency sugar consumption (three or more times daily) vs Low sugar intake (fewer than three times daily)

Dental caries prevalence · Nigerian individuals, including children and adults, with primary or permanent dentition

High-frequency sugar consumption was associated with 18% higher but non-significant odds of dental caries in Nigeria (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.87 to 1.59; I2=36%; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) vs Monotherapy or dual antiretroviral therapy

Dental caries prevalence and severity · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH)

No significant difference in dental caries/severity between ART regimens (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

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

Dental caries · Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)

Among children aged 6-8 years, DMFT scores were significantly reduced (SMD -0.11); subgroup not separately GRADE-rated.

8 findings from 1 review
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Breastfeeding for <4 months vs Breastfeeding for ≥4 months

Early childhood caries (ECC) · Preschool children (<6 years)

Breastfeeding for <4 vs ≥4 months was not significantly associated with early childhood caries (RR 0.95, 95% CI 0.80-1.13; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Breastfeeding for <6 months vs Breastfeeding for ≥6 months

Early childhood caries (ECC) · Preschool children (<6 years)

In cohort studies, breastfeeding for <6 vs ≥6 months was not significantly associated with early childhood caries (RR 0.97, 95% CI 0.88-1.06; ungraded).

2 findings from 1 review

Genome-wide common variants (aggregate additive; LD score regression) vs Not applicable (variance-component estimate)

Dental caries - SNP-based heritability · Japanese adults (present-study cohort)

SNP-based heritability of dental caries was low (h2=0.0258, SE 0.0155); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Electronic cigarette use vs Non-smokers

Untreated dental caries and caries risk · Humans who use e-cigarettes (adolescents to adults) assessed for dental caries

Across individual cross-sectional studies, e-cigarette users tended to have more untreated caries and higher caries risk than non-smokers (per-study OR ~2.0-4.2), but results were not pooled (ungraded, narrative).

1 finding from 1 review

Teledentistry diagnosis using DSLR or smartphone extra-oral photographs vs Visual or clinical examination

Sensitivity for dental caries diagnosis · Children and adults with primary or permanent dentition

Sensitivity ranged from 48% to 98.3% across 13 studies; no meta-analysis or GRADE rating was reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Teledentistry diagnosis using DSLR or smartphone extra-oral photographs vs Visual or clinical examination

Specificity for dental caries diagnosis · Children and adults with primary or permanent dentition

Specificity ranged from 83% to 100% across 13 studies; no meta-analysis or GRADE rating was reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Probiotics vs placebo or control

Dental caries in children · Adolescents (12-18 years) without background systemic disease

In a subgroup analysis, probiotics reduced the number of caries in adolescents (MD -0.60, 95%CI -0.92 to -0.28; p-interaction=0.02); not GRADE-rated.

1 finding from 1 review

Probiotics vs placebo or control

Dental caries in children · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease

Probiotics probably make little to no difference to the number of dental caries versus control (MD -0.24 carious pieces, 95%CI -0.72 to 0.23; low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Electronic cigarette use vs Non-smokers

DMFT/DMFS index (dental caries experience) · Humans who use e-cigarettes (adolescents to adults) assessed for dental caries

A meta-analysis of 3 studies compared DMFT/DMFS in e-cigarette users vs non-smokers, but the pooled effect appears only in Figure 3A (unavailable) and heterogeneity was very high (I2=98%); the effect of vaping on dental caries remains unclear (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review