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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%

Simple childhood caries prediction models with at least two predictors vs No competing model

Dental caries discrimination (area under the curve) · Children or adolescents

The Luo (2021) model had an AUC of 0.77 (95% CI 0.76 to 0.77).

6 findings from 1 review
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Living with HIV and undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART/HAART) vs Healthy HIV-negative controls

Dental caries (by severity) · Children or adolescents

One study reported higher median caries severity among CLWH under 12 years; no meta-analytic estimate was pooled.

1 finding from 1 review

TaqI (rs731236 T>C) polymorphism in the VDR gene (C allele / variant genotype) vs CT/CC genotype vs TT genotype (dominant model)

Dental caries susceptibility · Children and adults (no age limit) assessed for dental caries susceptibility

No significant association between the TaqI (rs731236 T>C) polymorphism and dental caries for mixed dentition caries under the dominant (CT/CC vs TT) model (OR 1.37, 95% CI 0.81 to 2.33); ungraded.

6 findings from 1 review
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TaqI (rs731236 T>C) polymorphism in the VDR gene (C allele / variant genotype) vs CC genotype vs TT genotype (homozygous model)

Dental caries susceptibility · Children and adults (no age limit) assessed for dental caries susceptibility

No significant association between the TaqI (rs731236 T>C) polymorphism and dental caries in Asians under the homozygous (CC vs TT) model (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.55 to 3.50); ungraded.

6 findings from 1 review
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TaqI (rs731236 T>C) polymorphism in the VDR gene (C allele / variant genotype) vs CC genotype vs CT/TT genotype (recessive model)

Dental caries susceptibility · Children and adults (no age limit) assessed for dental caries susceptibility

No significant association between the TaqI (rs731236 T>C) polymorphism and dental caries for mixed dentition caries under the recessive (CC vs CT/TT) model (OR 1.23, 95% CI 0.66 to 2.29); ungraded.

6 findings from 1 review
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TaqI (rs731236 T>C) polymorphism in the VDR gene (C allele / variant genotype) vs C allele vs T allele (allele contrast model)

Dental caries susceptibility · Children and adults (no age limit) assessed for dental caries susceptibility

No significant association between the TaqI (rs731236 T>C) polymorphism and dental caries in Caucasians under the allele contrast (C vs T) model (OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.50); ungraded.

6 findings from 1 review
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TaqI (rs731236 T>C) polymorphism in the VDR gene (C allele / variant genotype) vs CT genotype vs TT genotype (heterozygous model)

Dental caries susceptibility · Children and adults (no age limit) assessed for dental caries susceptibility

No significant association between the TaqI (rs731236 T>C) polymorphism and dental caries in Caucasians under the heterozygous (CT vs TT) model (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.56 to 1.56); ungraded.

6 findings from 1 review
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Teledentistry diagnosis using DSLR or smartphone extra-oral photographs vs Visual or clinical examination

Positive predictive value for dental caries diagnosis · Children and adults with primary or permanent dentition

Positive predictive values were reported in 10 of the 13 studies that reported sensitivity and specificity; 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

Negative predictive value for dental caries diagnosis · Children and adults with primary or permanent dentition

Negative predictive values were reported in 10 of the 13 studies that reported sensitivity and specificity; no meta-analysis or GRADE rating was reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Down syndrome vs Individuals without Down syndrome (healthy controls: siblings, schoolchildren or others)

Mean DMFT (decayed, missing, filled permanent teeth) · Individuals of all ages

Individuals with Down syndrome had a lower mean DMFT in permanent teeth than controls (pooled SMD -0.18, 95% CI -0.35 to -0.02; 6 studies; I2=20%); certainty of evidence not graded.

1 finding from 1 review

Living with HIV and undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART/HAART) vs HIV-negative individuals

Caries in primary teeth: dmft (3 years) · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH)

In cross-sectional studies, the dmft (primary dentition) index did not differ significantly between HIV+ children on ART and HIV-negative peers (MD 0.92, 95% CI -0.09 to 1.93; very low certainty).

2 findings from 1 review

Living with HIV and undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART/HAART) vs HIV-negative individuals

Dental caries severity (dmfs index, primary dentition) · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH)

In case-control studies, HIV+ children on ART had a significantly higher dmfs index than HIV-negative peers (MD 5.15, 95% CI 2.20 to 8.11; not separately GRADE-rated).

2 findings from 1 review

School-based supervised toothbrushing (STB) vs no intervention

Dental caries increment, DMFT/dmft (whole-tooth level) · Children in school or kindergarten settings (aged 3-14 years)

School-based supervised toothbrushing has no statistically significant effect on whole-tooth caries (DMFT/dmft SMD 0.05, 95% CI -0.27 to 0.37; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy, >=3 drugs) vs HIV-positive not receiving HAART (standard ART or HAART-naive)

Caries in primary teeth: dmft (3 years) · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH)

Among HIV+ children, HAART versus no HAART showed no significant difference in the dmft index in case-control studies (MD 0.66, 95% CI -0.26 to 1.58; ungraded).

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

Annual increment in DMFS (D3) · Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)

Oral-health-education interventions significantly reduced net increment in DMFS (SMD -1.05); no significant subgroup difference vs other interventions (P=0.74).

5 findings from 1 review
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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

Caries increment, tooth index D(M)FT · Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)

Among children aged 5-8 years, net increment in DMFT was not significantly reduced (SMD -0.36); no significant subgroup difference by age.

3 findings from 1 review

Living with HIV and undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART/HAART) vs HIV-negative individuals

Dental caries in permanent teeth · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH)

In cross-sectional studies, the DMFT index did not differ significantly between HIV+ children on ART and HIV-negative peers (MD 0.60, 95% CI -0.53 to 1.72; very low certainty).

2 findings from 1 review

School-based supervised toothbrushing (STB) vs no intervention

Caries increment on tooth surfaces (dmfs/DMFS) (prevented fraction) · Children in school or kindergarten settings (aged 3-14 years)

School-based supervised toothbrushing produces a small but statistically significant reduction in tooth-surface caries (DMFS/dmfs SMD -0.22, 95% CI -0.42 to -0.01; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy, >=3 drugs) vs HIV-positive not receiving HAART (standard ART or HAART-naive)

Dental caries in permanent teeth · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH)

Among HIV+ children, HAART was associated with a significantly higher DMFT index than no HAART in case-control studies (MD 2.02, 95% CI 1.24 to 2.80; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Living with HIV and undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART/HAART) vs HIV-negative individuals

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

In cross-sectional studies, HIV+ children on ART had a significantly higher DMFS index than HIV-negative peers (MD 2.00, 95% CI 1.54 to 2.46; not separately GRADE-rated).

2 findings from 1 review