What do systematic reviews say?

Theory-based oral health education/promotion interventions (HBM, TPB, SCT, HAPA, TTM, PMT, SOC, PRECEDE-PROCEED, MI) vs Control (waitlist, routine/standard oral health education, or minimal intervention)

Theory-based interventions significantly improved oral health-related quality of life (SMD 7.38; low certainty), with very high heterogeneity.

• Health promotion theory-based educational interventions for improving oral health in children and adolescents: a… 2025 All outcomes

  Post-intervention (follow-up 0.5 to 12 months, varies by study) · School-based and community settings; multiple countries (predominantly Iran; also Pakistan, Hong Kong, Lithuania, Thailand) · Overall
  SMD 7.38 [5.57, 9.19]
  4 studies · 4751 participants
  Low

Oral hygiene interventions (mechanical plaque removal): knowledge-based, behavioural, or skills training for people with ID or their carers vs Usual care, no care, or a similar alternative intervention

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Oral hygiene interventions for people with intellectual disabilities 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No studies measured quality of life changes or long-term, patient-centred outcomes as formal outcomes; some studies commented on quality of life only in the discussion or conclusion sections.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Orthodontic treatment with appliances inducing stable, permanent orthodontic tooth movement (splints worn 8 to 12 weeks and surgical interventions excluded) vs Control: no treatment, placebo, or reassurance

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Orthodontics for treating temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders 2010 · Cochrane All outcomes

  At least 6 months after the intervention
  no estimate extracted
  0 studies
  No studies found

Any intervention to manage relapse: fixed options (labial braces, lingual braces, fixed lingual wire) or removable options (Hawley's retainer with spring elastomeric module, Bloore removable aligner, other Hawley's retainer modifications, Invisalign, Clearstep) vs no intervention or another intervention

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for managing relapse of the lower front teeth after orthodontic treatment 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No RCTs met the inclusion criteria for this review. After deduplication, the electronic searching identified 527 publications; after reviewing the titles and abstracts, none focused on interventions to correct the…
  0 studies
  No studies found

Antioxidants (lycopene, curcumin, Oxitard) vs Placebo or no active treatment

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for managing oral submucous fibrosis 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes
  The trials did not measure quality of life.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) as an adjunct to conventional therapy vs conventional therapy

• Interventions for managing medication‐related osteonecrosis of the jaw 2022 · Cochrane All outcomes

  6 months
  QoL measured with the Duke Health Profile; only within-group comparisons were provided; no score values, so a between-group analysis was not possible.
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Chemotherapy (any regimen; added to, or compared with, locoregional treatment) vs Locoregional treatment and/or an alternative chemotherapy regimen

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for the treatment of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer: chemotherapy 2021 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Quality of life was a planned (protocol) outcome but no included trial provided usable quality-of-life data; the protocol was modified to report only survival/response outcomes.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Mechanical tongue cleaning (tongue scraper) vs No tongue cleaning

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Quality of life was a prespecified secondary outcome. None of the 44 included studies in the review (across all comparisons) reported quality-of-life data (review-wide evidence gap).
  0 studies
  No studies found

Amifostine vs no treatment/placebo

Amifostine showed no clear difference in quality of life compared with no treatment/placebo; GRADE not reported.

• Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes

  End of RT; up to 3 months postRT
  MD 0.52 [-0.02, 1.06]
  1 study · 233 participants
  GRADE not reported

Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF; palifermin or repifermin), intravenous vs placebo

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for preventing oral mucositis in patients with cancer receiving treatment: cytokines and growth factors 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No studies reported this outcome (planned secondary outcome not measured by any study in the review)
  0 studies
  No studies found

Antiseptic mouthrinse vs placebo

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No quality of life data were reported.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Bethanechol vs placebo

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No data on either quality of life or other oral related symptoms were reported.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Chinese medicine vs no treatment/placebo

• Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes

  End of intervention to 3 months postRT
  Insufficient evidence to determine any effect on quality of life (Lin 2014; Analysis 6.5)
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Amifostine (intravenous) vs Amifostine (subcutaneous)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No data on either quality of life or other oral related symptoms were reported.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Venalot Depot (coumarin plus troxerutin) vs placebo

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No data on either quality of life or other oral related symptoms were reported.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Amifostine 200 mg/m2 three times weekly vs Amifostine 200 mg/m2 five times weekly

• Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes

  End of RT and 6, 12, 18, 24 months postRT
  No significant differences between the three treatment arms (Jellema 2006)
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Bethanechol vs Artificial saliva

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No data on either quality of life or other oral related symptoms were reported.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Any experimental intervention (surgical or non-surgical) vs None (placebo or no treatment)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for treating bisphosphonate‐related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) 2016 · Cochrane All outcomes
  no estimate extracted
  0 studies
  No studies found

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy plus standard care (surgery, antibiotics, oral rinse) vs Standard care alone (surgery, antibiotics, oral rinse)

• Interventions for treating bisphosphonate‐related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) 2016 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Baseline and 6 months
  no estimate extracted
  1 study · 49 participants
  GRADE not reported

Oral cryotherapy (ice chips, ice-cold water, ice cubes or crushed ice held in the mouth during cancer treatment) vs no intervention or control intervention (control)

• Interventions for preventing oral mucositis in patients with cancer receiving treatment: oral cryotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  High-dose melphalan-based treatment prior to HSCT (haematological cancers)
  Summary of findings 2 (melphalan/HSCT): Quality of life - '1 study assessed this outcome but the data are currently unavailable as the study report and analysis have not yet been completed' (Toro 2013; measured with…
  1 study
  GRADE not reported
• Interventions for preventing oral mucositis in patients with cancer receiving treatment: oral cryotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Fluorouracil (5FU) treatment for solid cancers
  Summary of findings for the main comparison (5FU solid cancers): Quality of life - 'No studies assessed this outcome'.
  0 studies
  No studies found