Streptococcus mutans count · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
Probiotics probably reduce Streptococcus mutans count versus control (MD -0.40 CFU/mL, 95%CI -0.57 to -0.24; moderate certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Spontaneous space closure · Children and adolescents after extraction of a mandibular permanent first molar (before eruption of the second molar)
In the mandible, extraction at Demirjian stage E (vs later F-H) increases odds of space closure (OR 3.81; low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Spontaneous space closure · Children and adolescents after extraction of a mandibular permanent first molar (before eruption of the second molar)
One study found space closure more likely with crowding than spacing (OR 5.9; single study; not GRADE-rated).
1 finding from 1 review
Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level · Children aged 6 years or younger (preschool children)
Children with severe ECC had significantly lower serum 25(OH)D than caries-free children (WMD -18.64 nmol/l; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Dental caries prevalence · Institutionalized orphan children (roughly 3 to 18 years)
Institutionalized orphan children may be at higher risk of dental caries than parented children (pooled RR 1.19), but the estimate is imprecise and not statistically significant (very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Gingival bleeding (various bleeding indices) · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
Only one trial (Borrell 2021) reported the bleeding index, showing slightly more bleeding with probiotics (MD 0.10, 95%CI 0.02 to 0.18); not pooled or GRADE-rated.
1 finding from 1 review
TNF-α level · Children and young adults (3-25 years)
Salivary TNF-α levels are significantly higher in children and young adults with active dental caries than in caries-free or mild-caries controls (SMD 14.81 pg/mL, 95% CI 4.76 to 24.86; 7 studies); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Early childhood caries (ECC) · Preschool children ≤6 years, North America
In North America, 25(OH)D 50–75 nmol/l (vs ≥75) was associated with higher odds of ECC (OR 2.09; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Overall success (composite of clinical and radiographic success) · Permanent teeth with carious pulp exposure
MTA and calcium-enriched mixture had comparable pulpotomy success (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Caries experience (mean DMFT) · Brazilian children/adolescents in permanent dentition (BMI classified by CDC 2000 growth charts)
Normal-weight adolescents may have higher caries experience (DMFT) than obese peers in the permanent dentition, but the evidence is very uncertain (very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
High salivary S. mutans (over 10^4 CFU/ml) · adults
Salivary S. mutans showed a non-significant declining trend with periodontitis (OR 0.82).
1 finding from 1 review
OR 0.82 [0.44, 1.51]
2 studies
GRADE not reported
Intervention not reported
Overall success (composite of clinical and radiographic success)
1 finding from 1 review
High salivary S. mutans (over 10^4 CFU/ml) · Periodontitis patients
High-level S. mutans did not change significantly after periodontal therapy (OR 1.54).
1 finding from 1 review
Early childhood caries (ECC) · Preschool children ≤6 years, Asia and Europe
In Asia and Europe, 25(OH)D 50–75 nmol/l (vs ≥75) was associated with higher odds of ECC (OR 1.32; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Dental caries prevalence · Brazilian children/adolescents (BMI classified by WHO 2007 percentile)
The evidence is very uncertain about the effect of overweight/obesity on caries odds (WHO 2007 percentile; very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Moderate gingival inflammation / gingival health · Persons with disabilities (children and adults with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, hearing impairment, or multiple disabilities)…
Gingival inflammation is common among persons with disabilities in Saudi Arabia (moderate-to-severe up to about 60%), reported narratively without a pooled comparative estimate (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Intervention not reported
Spontaneous space closure
The intervention led to higher spontaneous space closure; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
OR 8.0
1 study
GRADE not reported
Plaque index (PI) / oral hygiene · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
Probiotics may make little to no difference to the bacterial plaque index versus control (MD 0.21, 95%CI -0.55 to 0.96; very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Caries arrestment at the tooth level · Children and adults with active dental caries (aged 1-50; mostly preschool/school children with primary dentition)
Pooling two trials, SDF and nano-silver fluoride showed no significant difference in tooth-level caries arrestment (OR 1.47; ungraded subgroup).
1 finding from 1 review
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