evidencegaps
Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

Refine by population, intervention, comparison or outcome
More filters
Evidence found and GRADE certainty

2,745 questions · 4,389 findings · 203 reviews · Dental caries

Sort:Best matchNewestHighest certaintyDownload CSV
No studies found 39 · 0.9%GRADE not reported 3,844 · 87.6%Very low 198 · 4.5%Low 137 · 3.1%Moderate 134 · 3.1%High 37 · 0.8%

Residence in weakly contaminated area (approx. 1-5 Ci/km2) vs Residence in non-contaminated (non-exposed) area (<1 Ci/km2)

Dental caries · Children of mixed ages (mean approximately 12 years; no age separation)

In children of mixed ages from a weakly contaminated area, one study reported higher DMFT/dmft in exposed than non-exposed children; not pooled (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

1% chlorhexidine + 1% thymol varnish vs 38% SDF + potassium iodide solution (applied annually)

Arrest or reversal of noncavitated and cavitated root carious lesions · Adults (including institutionalized/older adults) with noncavitated and cavitated carious lesions on root surfaces (permanent teeth)

1% chlorhexidine + 1% thymol varnish may not differ from 38% SDF + potassium iodide solution (applied annually) for arrest or reversal of root carious lesions (RR 0.71, 95% CI 0.11 to 4.45; very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Salvadora persica (miswak) mouthrinse vs Pre-treatment (baseline, same group)

Lactobacillus count (pre- vs post-treatment) · Medically healthy individuals (adults and children, 6-60 years)

Salvadora persica rinse reduced Lactobacillus counts relative to baseline; not GRADE-rated.

1 finding from 1 review

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) vs Children and adolescents without JIA (healthy peers)

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD), TMJ arthritis/involvement and orofacial pain · Children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)

TMD and TMJ arthritis/involvement (and orofacial pain) were consistently reported more frequently in children/adolescents with JIA than in healthy peers, though several studies had small samples; no pooled estimate (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

30% SDF solution (applied annually) vs 30% SDF solution (once weekly for 3 weeks)

Arrest of advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface · Preschool children with advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface (primary teeth)

30% SDF solution (applied annually) probably did not differ from 30% SDF solution (once weekly for 3 weeks) for arrest or reversal of cavitated coronal carious lesions (RR 1.13, 95% CI 0.95 to 1.34; moderate certainty).

3 findings from 1 review

Salvadora persica (miswak) mouthrinse vs Chlorhexidine mouthrinse

Plaque · Medically healthy individuals (adults and children, 6-60 years)

When usual mechanical plaque control continued, Salvadora persica and chlorhexidine did not differ significantly for plaque; not GRADE-rated.

8 findings from 1 review
Show 5 more findings

38% silver diamine fluoride vs no treatment

Arrest or reversal of noncavitated and cavitated root carious lesions · Adults (including institutionalized/older adults) with noncavitated and cavitated carious lesions on root surfaces (permanent teeth)

38% SDF solution (applied annually) may not differ from no treatment for arrest or reversal of root carious lesions (RR 1.92, 95% CI 0.52 to 6.87; very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

CPP-ACP vs No active treatment (control)

Enamel surface microhardness · Extracted human teeth with early/artificial enamel lesions (in vitro)

In vitro, CPP-ACP increased Vickers microhardness versus control (SMD 1.19, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.66; ungraded).

3 findings from 1 review

Longitudinal follow-up over time (natural caries progression; no assigned intervention) vs Within-cohort change from baseline to follow-up (>=3 y)

Caries development in permanent teeth · Children and adolescents (permanent dentition, D3, up to 21 y), Western or comparable populations

In the permanent dentition, the annual DMFS increment ranged from 0.07 to 1.77 across 26 studies, and was higher where baseline caries experience was higher (descriptive range; ungraded).

4 findings from 1 review
Show 1 more finding
  • Caries Progression Rates Revisited: A Systematic Review. 2019 All outcomes
    Per year of follow-up · Western Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand (or comparable Western populations) · Baseline caries experience: low
    0.07 to 0.53
    8 studies · 3735 participants
    GRADE not reported

Er:YAG laser preparation combined with acid-etching vs Acid-etching (phosphoric acid)

Sealant retention rate (completely retained) · Children with permanent molars requiring pit-and-fissure sealants

At 12 months, Er:YAG laser combined with acid-etching significantly improved sealant retention versus acid-etching alone (OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.80, favouring laser+acid; ungraded, single study).

4 findings from 1 review
Show 1 more finding

Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) pulpotomy dressing vs Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF)

Overall success (composite of clinical and radiographic success) · Immature (young) permanent teeth with open apex and vital pulp exposed to dental caries or trauma, in children aged 6-14 years

A single RCT found no difference in pulpotomy success between MTA and platelet-rich fibrin (both 100% through 24 months; not pooled; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Colour clinical examination (visual shade categorization: yellow, light brown, dark brown, black) vs Hardness clinical examination (tactile texture categorization: soft, medium/leathery, hard)

Discriminant power for caries severity: mean difference in log10 CFU (microbial load) between lesion categories · Patients with dentine carious lesions (deciduous/permanent teeth; children and adults)

For yellow-vs-other colour compared with soft-vs-harder hardness, hardness was significantly the more discriminant test (pooled WMD -3.87, 95% CI -4.46 to -2.87; ungraded).

6 findings from 1 review
Show 3 more findings

30% SDF solution (applied annually) vs Fluoride varnish

Arrest of advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface · Preschool children with advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface (primary teeth)

30% SDF solution (applied annually) was more effective than 5% NaF varnish (once weekly for 3 weeks) for arrest or reversal of cavitated coronal carious lesions (RR 1.41, 95% CI 1.2 to 1.66; high certainty).

3 findings from 1 review

Laser enamel preparation vs Enameloplasty

Any planned outcome (sealant retention, caries, etc.) · Patients with premolars/molars requiring pit-and-fissure sealants

No eligible studies compared laser preparation with enameloplasty for fissure sealant placement (evidence gap).

1 finding from 1 review

Longitudinal follow-up over time (natural caries progression; no assigned intervention) vs Within-cohort change from baseline to follow-up (>=3 y)

Dental caries: dmfs increment (primary teeth) · Children (primary dentition, d3), Western or comparable populations

In the primary dentition, the annual dmfs increment ranged from -1.0 to 1.0 across 7 studies; values were inconsistent because of tooth exfoliation and could not be pooled (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

1.23% APF gel vs no treatment

Arrest or reversal of noncavitated occlusal carious lesions · Children and adults with noncavitated carious lesions on occlusal surfaces (primary and permanent teeth)

1.23% APF gel was probably more effective than no treatment for arrest or reversal of occlusal carious lesions (RR 2.13, 95% CI 1.79 to 2.54; moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

38% silver diamine fluoride vs 12% SDF solution (applied annually)

Arrest of advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface · Preschool children with advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface (primary teeth)

38% SDF solution (applied annually) was more effective than 12% SDF solution (applied annually) for arrest or reversal of cavitated coronal carious lesions (RR 1.27, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.4; high certainty).

4 findings from 1 review
Show 1 more finding