Findings

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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

2,227 questions · 2,562 findings · 156 reviews · Oral Health

No studies found 297 · 11.6%GRADE not reported 1,616 · 63.1%Very low 405 · 15.8%Low 144 · 5.6%Moderate 81 · 3.2%High 19 · 0.7%

Electronic cigarette use vs Non-smokers (non-users)

Oral candidiasis prevalence · Adult e-cigarette (ENDS) users (general oral health; predominantly natural dentition)

E-cigarette users may have a higher prevalence of oral Candida colonization than non-smokers (narrative synthesis; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Electronic cigarette use vs Non-smokers (non-users)

Oral microbiota composition (dysbiosis; increased periodontal/opportunistic pathogens) · Adult e-cigarette (ENDS) users (general oral health; predominantly natural dentition)

E-cigarette use is associated with oral microbiota dysbiosis and increased pathogenic bacteria compared with non-smokers (narrative synthesis; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Electronic cigarette use vs Non-smokers (non-users)

Plaque index (PI) / oral hygiene · Adult e-cigarette (ENDS) users (general oral health; predominantly natural dentition)

E-cigarette users tend to have a higher plaque index (more biofilm accumulation) than non-smokers (narrative synthesis of systematic reviews; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) vs Healthy controls without cleft

Oral microbiota composition · Individuals assessed for oral microbiota (mainly children and adolescents)

Oral microbiota composition differs between persons with orofacial cleft and healthy controls, synthesized qualitatively across 8 studies but not meta-analyzed (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Periodontitis vs Individuals without periodontal disease (by LOA)

Malignant transformation (oral cancer development) · Adults in case-control studies of oral cancer; people assessed for periodontitis

Periodontitis is associated with roughly a threefold higher odds of oral cancer (pooled OR 2.94, 95% CI 2.13-4.07; low certainty of evidence), though heterogeneity is moderate (I2=52.4%).

1 finding from 1 review

Higher number of lost teeth (per one additional lost tooth) vs One fewer missing tooth

Malignant transformation (oral cancer development) · Adults in case-control studies (oral cancer patients vs healthy controls)

The number of missing teeth (per tooth) was not significantly associated with oral cancer (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.92-1.01); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Missing teeth / tooth loss vs Fewer or no missing teeth

Malignant transformation (oral cancer development) · Adults in case-control studies (oral cancer patients vs healthy controls)

Pooling across all missing-teeth measures, the overall association with oral cancer was not statistically significant (OR 1.20, 95% CI 0.97-1.48; high heterogeneity, I2=82.8%); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Pentoxifylline vs multivitamin and mineral supplement

Severity of oral/mucosal burning pain/sensation · People of any age with a confirmed diagnosis, by clinical examination and biopsy, of oral submucous fibrosis (OSF)
1 finding from 1 review
  • Rajendran 2006 concluded the intervention reduced pain, but pain intensity evaluations were inadequately defined and from interview data, making mean scores difficult to interpret.
    1 study · 29 participants
    GRADE not reported

COE with vital rinsing (toluidine blue/tolonium chloride) vs Conventional oral examination (COE) alone

Detection rate of oral pre-malignant and malignant lesions after referral (COE+vital rinsing vs COE alone) · Oral cavity cancer or potentially malignant disorder symptom-free individuals with tobacco habits

COE with vital rinsing (toluidine blue/tolonium chloride) showed no clear difference in detection rate of oral pre-malignant and malignant lesions after… compared with conventional oral examination (COE) alone (moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Vitamin A or retinoids (systemic or topical; incl. 13-cis-retinoic acid, acitretin) vs placebo or no treatment

Malignant transformation (oral cancer development) · People with a diagnosis of oral leukoplakia

It is very uncertain whether vitamin A or retinoids (systemic or topical; incl. 13-cis-retinoic… changes oral cancer development compared with placebo or no treatment (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Topical bleomycin vs placebo or no treatment

Clinical resolution (oral lesion not completely resolved) · People with a diagnosis of oral leukoplakia

It is very uncertain whether topical bleomycin changes clinical resolution (oral lesion not completely resolved) compared with placebo or no treatment (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Vitamin A or retinoids (systemic or topical; incl. 13-cis-retinoic acid, acitretin) vs placebo or no treatment

Clinical resolution (oral lesion not completely resolved) · People with a diagnosis of oral leukoplakia
1 finding from 1 review
  • Interventions for treating oral leukoplakia to prevent oral cancer 2016 · Cochrane All outcomes
    4 to 12 months
    SoF 1, Clinical resolution (not completely resolved) at 4 to 12 months: 'Studies could not be combined in meta-analysis. One study evaluated topical treatment and did not find evidence of benefit; 3 studies of systemic…
    4 studies
    GRADE not reported

Herbal extracts (tea components; Chinese herbal mixture; freeze-dried black raspberry gel) vs placebo or no treatment

Clinical resolution (oral lesion not completely resolved) · People with a diagnosis of oral leukoplakia
1 finding from 1 review
  • SoF 4, Clinical resolution (not completely resolved) at 3 to 6 months: '3 studies (freeze-dried black raspberry gel, green tea extract capsules, mixed tea) did not find evidence of benefit.' No GRADE. Effects text:…
    4 studies
    GRADE not reported

Systemic beta carotene or carotenoids (incl. lycopene) vs placebo or no treatment

Malignant transformation (oral cancer development) · People with a diagnosis of oral leukoplakia

It is very uncertain whether systemic beta carotene or carotenoids (incl. lycopene) changes oral cancer development compared with placebo or no treatment (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Herbal extracts (tea components; Chinese herbal mixture; freeze-dried black raspberry gel) vs placebo or no treatment

Malignant transformation (oral cancer development) · People with a diagnosis of oral leukoplakia
1 finding from 1 review
  • SoF 4 (Herbal extracts vs placebo), Cancer development: SoF cell 'Not measured'. Effects text: cancer development was among the outcomes in Tsao 2009 (green tea extract) but it was not possible to analyse the data…
    1 study
    GRADE not reported

Bowman-Birk inhibitor vs placebo or no treatment

Malignant transformation (oral cancer development) · People with a diagnosis of oral leukoplakia

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Systemic beta carotene or carotenoids (incl. lycopene) vs placebo or no treatment

Clinical resolution (oral lesion not completely resolved) · People with a diagnosis of oral leukoplakia
1 finding from 1 review
  • Interventions for treating oral leukoplakia to prevent oral cancer 2016 · Cochrane All outcomes
    5 to 12 months
    SoF 2, Clinical resolution (not completely resolved) at 5 to 12 months: 'The 3 studies could not be combined in meta-analysis. 2 found benefit for systemic beta carotene, and 1 did not.' No GRADE rating. Effects text…
    3 studies
    GRADE not reported