What do systematic reviews say?

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

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

Electrostimulation (device) vs Placebo (sham/placebo device)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for the management of dry mouth: non‐pharmacological interventions 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  no estimate extracted
  0 studies
  No studies found

Acupuncture vs sham

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for the management of dry mouth: non‐pharmacological interventions 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  no estimate extracted
  0 studies
  No studies found

Selenium vs no intervention

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

  6 weeks after end of RT
  Insufficient evidence of differences for loss of taste or dysphagia; data largely unusable (no standard deviations). Ageusia milder in selenium group (not significant); dysphagia significant only at week 7 (P = 0.05)…
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Experimental chewing adjuncts (bite wafers or chewing gum) vs No chewing gum, placebo, or control (no adjunct)

Experimental chewing adjuncts (bite wafers or chewing gum) led to lower quality of life or patient satisfaction compared with no chewing gum, placebo, or control (no adjunct); GRADE not reported.

• Non‐pharmacological interventions for alleviating pain during orthodontic treatment 2016 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 hours
  RR 0.45 [0.22, 0.94]
  2 studies · 107 participants
  GRADE not reported

Pilocarpine vs no treatment/placebo

It is very uncertain whether pilocarpine changes quality of life (McMaster HNRQ, 1-7 scale) compared with no treatment/placebo (very low certainty).

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

  Up to and including 6 months postRT
  MD 0.20 [-0.19, 0.59]
  1 study · 90 participants
  Very low

Analgesic (any: NSAID, paracetamol, local anaesthetic or opioid) vs placebo or control

• Pharmacological interventions for pain relief during orthodontic treatment 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Reported narratively by 2 studies (Wang 2012: SF-36 and SAS - significant reduction in SF-36 bodily pain at 30 days vs baseline, no significant between-group differences; Minor 2009: STAI and PANAS - no significant…
  2 studies
  GRADE not reported

NSAID (systemic) vs paracetamol

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Pharmacological interventions for pain relief during orthodontic treatment 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No studies in this comparison reported this outcome.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Topical NSAID (ketoprofen lysinate mouthwash, 160 mg) vs Topical NSAID (benzidamine hydrochloride mouthwash, 22.5 mg)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Pharmacological interventions for pain relief during orthodontic treatment 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  The study did not report this outcome.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Ibuprofen taken pre-emptively (about 1 hour before treatment) vs Ibuprofen taken post-treatment

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Pharmacological interventions for pain relief during orthodontic treatment 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No studies in this comparison reported this outcome.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Topical NSAID (ketoprofen chewing gum) vs Local anaesthetic (benzocaine chewing gum)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Pharmacological interventions for pain relief during orthodontic treatment 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  The study did not report this outcome.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Antimicrobial lozenge vs placebo

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

  Over 6 months
  Insufficient evidence of a difference for global quality of life, mouth pain RR 0.94 (95% CI 0.66 to 1.33), sore/burning mouth RR 0.95 (95% CI 0.68 to 1.35), throat pain RR 0.79 (95% CI 0.56 to 1.12) (Duncan 2005)
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Amifostine vs no treatment/placebo

It is very uncertain whether amifostine changes quality of life (Patient Benefit Questionnaire, 10-point scale) compared with no treatment/placebo (very low certainty).

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

  12 months postRT
  MD 0.70 [0.20, 1.20]
  1 study · 180 participants
  Very low