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Each row is one question a systematic review asked: who, what, compared with what, and which outcome, with the effect it found and how certain that is. Every word you type has to appear somewhere in the question, and the closest matches are ranked first.
10,375 questions in 429 reviews · Oral Health
current versionsNo studies 1,344 · 13%Ungraded 6,832 · 65.9%Very low 1,228 · 11.8%Low 613 · 5.9%Moderate 290 · 2.8%High 68 · 0.7%
Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.
| Question | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Educational intervention with information and practical components (theoretical oral health education plus practical skills training) for nursing staff and/or residents vs (Optimised) usual care Oral health-related knowledge of nursing staff · Nursing home nursing staff (approximately 95% female in the two contributing studies) Oral health educational interventions for nursing home staff and residents (2016) · Cochrane | SMD 0.94 [-0.04, 1.92] | 2 studies · 453 participants | Ungraded |
Psychological therapies (cognitive therapy) vs Placebo Change in quality of life (QoL) · People with primary burning mouth syndrome (BMS), that is, oral mucosal pain with no dental or medical cause for such… · short-term (up to 3 months) Interventions for treating burning mouth syndrome (2016) · Cochrane | SoF8: No included study reported change in QoL. | 0 studies | No studies |
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) vs No special instructions (control) Patient‐reported pain intensity or pain relief (VAS, NRS or categorical scale) · Adults undergoing orthodontic treatment · 7 days Non‐pharmacological interventions for alleviating pain during orthodontic treatment (2016) · Cochrane | MD -6.50 [-17.64, 4.64] | 1 study · 24 participants | Ungraded |
Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) graft vs No grafting Postoperative swelling · People requiring retreatment of periapical lesions (failed root canal therapy) · up to 7 days Endodontic procedures for retreatment of periapical lesions (2016) · Cochrane | Swelling reported significantly less in the PRF group up to 5 days postoperatively (Angerame 2015). | 1 study · 11 participants | Ungraded |
Lower socioeconomic position measured by poverty income and education vs Higher socioeconomic position Periodontitis and allostatic load · US adults in NHANES III Social-Biological Interactions in Oral Disease: A 'Cells to Society' View. (2016) | no estimate extracted | 1 study | Ungraded |
Monitoring (any means of observation, supervision, keeping under review, measuring or testing at intervals) vs No monitoring Oral health: Not having seen a dentist in the past year · People with serious mental illness (all included participants had schizophrenia); majority aged 18 to 65 years per… Oral health education (advice and training) for people with serious mental illness (2016) · Cochrane | No study reported useable data | 0 studies | No studies |
Intervention NR Arrest of dentine caries · 38% SDF vs 5% NaF varnish (SDF superior) Caries remineralisation and arresting effect in children by professionally applied fluoride treatment - a… (2016) | no estimate extracted | 2 studies | Ungraded |
Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) vs Conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece with a bur) Pulpal inflammation or necrosis · Children, adolescents and adults with caries in deciduous and permanent teeth (age 3.5 to 84 years) · 6 months follow-up Lasers for caries removal in deciduous and permanent teeth (2016) · Cochrane | RR 0.99 [0.10, 9.41] | 2 studies · 156 participants | Very low |
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy plus standard care (surgery, antibiotics, oral rinse) vs Standard care alone (surgery, antibiotics, oral rinse) Healing of osteonecrosis - healed ('healed' vs 'improved', 'unchanged' or 'worse') · People with BRONJ (mean age ~66 years; most treated with bisphosphonates for cancer (multiple myeloma, breast cancer)… · Last contact Interventions for treating bisphosphonate‐related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) (2016) · Cochrane | RR 1.56 [0.77, 3.18] | 1 study · 46 participants | Ungraded |
Topical treatments (benzydamine hydrochloride oral rinse) vs Placebo Adverse effects · People with primary burning mouth syndrome (BMS), that is, oral mucosal pain with no dental or medical cause for such… · short-term (up to 3 months), benzydamine hydrochloride Interventions for treating burning mouth syndrome (2016) · Cochrane | SoF9. Adverse effects: single study narratively reported that no adverse effects occurred from benzydamine hydrochloride oral rinse; 20 participants (1 RCT); very low. | 1 study · 20 participants | Very low |
Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) root-end filling vs Intermediate restorative material (IRM) Healing - 2 years · People requiring retreatment of periapical lesions (failed root canal therapy) · 2 years Endodontic procedures for retreatment of periapical lesions (2016) · Cochrane | RR 1.05 [0.92, 1.20] | 1 study · 108 participants | Ungraded |
Preoperative analgesics (analgesics given before dental treatment) vs Placebo or no analgesics Preoperative and postoperative anxiety measures · Children and adolescents aged up to 17 years having dental treatment (orthodontic treatment, fillings, pulp treatment,… Preoperative analgesics for additional pain relief in children and adolescents having dental treatment (2016) · Cochrane | None of the included studies assessed anxiety or behaviour at baseline, and none recorded baseline anxiety. PUB3: 'The [three/four] studies did not measure ... preoperative and postoperative anxiety measures ...' | 0 studies | No studies |
Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) graft vs No grafting Postoperative pain · People requiring retreatment of periapical lesions (failed root canal therapy) · up to 7 days Endodontic procedures for retreatment of periapical lesions (2016) · Cochrane | Pain not assessed by VAS; reported significantly less in the PRF group at two time points only (2 and 6 hours after surgery). | 1 study · 11 participants | Ungraded |
Dietary supplements (Catuama herbal compound) vs Placebo Adverse effects: exacerbation of symptoms · People with primary burning mouth syndrome (BMS), that is, oral mucosal pain with no dental or medical cause for such… · short-term (up to 3 months), Catuama Interventions for treating burning mouth syndrome (2016) · Cochrane | RR 1.12 [0.33, 3.83] | 1 study · 72 participants | Very low |
Chemically cured zinc phosphate cement vs Chemically cured glass ionomer cement Band failure (band adhesive loosening) · Patients with full arch fixed orthodontic appliances with bands attached to molars (patients with cleft lip/palate or… · Approximately 12 months (to end of treatment) Adhesives for fixed orthodontic bands (2016) · Cochrane | No meta-analysis (band failure not reported on a per-patient basis). Durning 1989 (69 participants): at ~12 months failure rate 34.78% (zinc phosphate) vs 26% (glass ionomer), P > 0.05; mean survival time 470.9 vs… | 4 studies | Ungraded |
Selective or stepwise carious tissue removal vs Non-selective or complete carious tissue removal Proportion of dentists selecting selective or stepwise removal · Dentists surveyed about deep carious lesions in permanent teeth · Seale and Glickman 2007 (pedodontists) Understanding dentists' management of deep carious lesions in permanent teeth: a systematic review and… (2016) | Proportion (%) 71 [65, 77] | 1 study · 252 participants | Ungraded |
Oral health education (advice and training) vs Standard care (oral health advice not specifically emphasised beyond usual care) Adverse events: Clinically important specific adverse events · People with serious mental illness (all included participants had schizophrenia); majority aged 18 to 65 years per… Oral health education (advice and training) for people with serious mental illness (2016) · Cochrane | No study reported useable data | 0 studies | No studies |
Perioperative infraorbital nerve block vs Infiltration of the incision (peri-incisional infiltration) Duration of hospitalisation · Children up to 13 years of age, undergoing cleft lip repair surgery Infraorbital nerve block for postoperative pain following cleft lip repair in children (2016) · Cochrane | The included studies did not report this outcome. | 0 studies | No studies |
Educational intervention with information and practical components (theoretical oral health education plus practical skills training) for nursing staff and/or residents vs (Optimised) usual care Incidence of respiratory diseases and pneumonia · Nursing home residents (mean age 78.3 to 86.0 years; more than 66% women; 62.1% to 87.3% with dental prostheses) Oral health educational interventions for nursing home staff and residents (2016) · Cochrane | None of the included studies assessed incidence of respiratory diseases or pneumonia. | 0 studies | No studies |
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy plus standard care (surgery, antibiotics, oral rinse) vs Standard care alone (surgery, antibiotics, oral rinse) Healing of osteonecrosis - improvement ('healed' or 'improved' vs 'unchanged' or 'worse') · People with BRONJ (mean age ~66 years; most treated with bisphosphonates for cancer (multiple myeloma, breast cancer)… · 3 months Interventions for treating bisphosphonate‐related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) (2016) · Cochrane | RR 1.94 [1.01, 3.74] | 1 study · 45 participants | Very low |
Oral appliance or functional orthopaedic appliance vs Placebo or no treatment Daytime symptom: thirstiness in the morning (questionnaire) · Children with obstructive sleep apnoea (aged 15 years or younger) · 6 months Oral appliances and functional orthopaedic appliances for obstructive sleep apnoea in children (2016) · Cochrane | RR 0.16 [0.02, 1.22] | 1 study · 23 participants | Ungraded |
Oral appliance or functional orthopaedic appliance vs Placebo or no treatment Signs and symptoms of atypical swallowing and speech production disturbance · Children with obstructive sleep apnoea (aged 15 years or younger) Oral appliances and functional orthopaedic appliances for obstructive sleep apnoea in children (2016) · Cochrane | The included study did not assess this outcome. | 0 studies | No studies |
Educational intervention with information only (theoretical dental health education, no practical training) vs Usual care Denture-induced stomatitis · Residents of institutions for elderly people (nursing staff and residents took part in the education programme) Oral health educational interventions for nursing home staff and residents (2016) · Cochrane | Schou 1989 (114 residents, unclear risk of bias): no difference in the prevalence of denture stomatitis between the groups. | 1 study · 114 participants | Ungraded |
Perioperative infraorbital nerve block vs Intravenous analgesia Duration of hospitalisation · Children up to 13 years of age, undergoing cleft lip repair surgery Infraorbital nerve block for postoperative pain following cleft lip repair in children (2016) · Cochrane | None of the included studies reported this outcome. | 0 studies | No studies |
Depression and social isolation (psychosocial strain) vs No depression or lower psychosocial strain Antibody titres to periodontal pathogens · Adults with periodontitis · Baseline and 1-year follow-up Social-Biological Interactions in Oral Disease: A 'Cells to Society' View. (2016) | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 148 participants | Ungraded |
Perioperative infraorbital nerve block vs Intravenous analgesia Pain measured by valid instruments (mean postoperative pain score) · Children up to 13 years of age, undergoing cleft lip repair surgery · 0 to 4 hours (first four hours after surgery) Infraorbital nerve block for postoperative pain following cleft lip repair in children (2016) · Cochrane | SMD -1.50 [-2.40, -0.60] | 2 studies · 107 participants | Very low |
Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) vs Conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece with a bur) Pulpal inflammation or necrosis · Children, adolescents and adults with caries in deciduous and permanent teeth (age 3.5 to 84 years) · 1 week follow-up Lasers for caries removal in deciduous and permanent teeth (2016) · Cochrane | RR 1.51 [0.26, 8.75] | 3 studies · 317 participants | Very low |
Perioperative infraorbital nerve block vs Infiltration of the incision (peri-incisional infiltration) Need for analgesic prescription for pain (supplemental analgesic requirements) · Children up to 13 years of age, undergoing cleft lip repair surgery Infraorbital nerve block for postoperative pain following cleft lip repair in children (2016) · Cochrane | RR 0.16 [0.05, 0.51] | 1 study · 30 participants | Very low |
Monitoring (any means of observation, supervision, keeping under review, measuring or testing at intervals) vs No monitoring Quality of life: Chronic pain · People with serious mental illness (all included participants had schizophrenia); majority aged 18 to 65 years per… Oral health education (advice and training) for people with serious mental illness (2016) · Cochrane | No study reported useable data | 0 studies | No studies |
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 · 4 to 12 months Interventions for treating oral leukoplakia to prevent oral cancer (2016) · Cochrane | 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 | Ungraded |
Lower socioeconomic position measured by annual family income and poverty-income ratio vs Higher socioeconomic position Periodontitis and allostatic load · US adults in NHANES 1999-2004 · Race/ethnicity Social-Biological Interactions in Oral Disease: A 'Cells to Society' View. (2016) | no estimate extracted | 1 study | Ungraded |
Experimental chewing adjuncts (bite wafers or chewing gum) vs No chewing gum, placebo, or control (no adjunct) Patient‐reported pain intensity or pain relief (VAS, NRS or categorical scale) · Adolescents undergoing orthodontic treatment · 3 days Non‐pharmacological interventions for alleviating pain during orthodontic treatment (2016) · Cochrane | MD -29.16 [-51.67, -6.65] | 1 study · 39 participants | Ungraded |
Low‐level laser therapy (LLLT) vs Placebo (or no irradiation) Adverse effects of pain treatment · Adolescents and adults undergoing orthodontic treatment Non‐pharmacological interventions for alleviating pain during orthodontic treatment (2016) · Cochrane | Adverse effects: Not measured. | NR | No studies |
Oral appliance or functional orthopaedic appliance vs Placebo or no treatment Reduction of apnoea episodes (apnoea-hypopnoea index) · Children with obstructive sleep apnoea (aged 15 years or younger) · 6 months Oral appliances and functional orthopaedic appliances for obstructive sleep apnoea in children (2016) · Cochrane | RR 0.39 [0.20, 0.76] | 1 study · 23 participants | Very low |
Perioperative infraorbital nerve block vs Placebo (sham block) Time to first analgesic requirement · Children up to 13 years of age, undergoing cleft lip repair surgery Infraorbital nerve block for postoperative pain following cleft lip repair in children (2016) · Cochrane | Takmaz 2009: time to first analgesic requirement significantly longer in the intervention than the placebo group (8.3 +/- 0.9 hours versus 1.6 +/- 0.8 hours; P = 0.001). Not pooled. | 1 study | Ungraded |
Experimental chewing adjuncts (bite wafers or chewing gum) vs No chewing gum, placebo, or control (no adjunct) Patient‐reported pain intensity or pain relief (VAS, NRS or categorical scale) · Adolescents undergoing orthodontic treatment · 7 days Non‐pharmacological interventions for alleviating pain during orthodontic treatment (2016) · Cochrane | MD -15.17 [-32.44, 2.11] | 2 studies · 96 participants | Ungraded |
High-viscosity glass-ionomer cement (HVGIC) fissure sealant placed by press-finger technique vs Resin-based fissure sealant Development of carious lesions on sealed occlusal pits and fissures · Children with fully erupted permanent first molar teeth (mean age about 6 to 8 years) · 48 months Caries-Preventive Effect of High-Viscosity Glass Ionomer and Resin-Based Fissure Sealants on Permanent… (2016) | RR 0.62 [0.31, 1.21] | 2 studies · 1007 evaluated sealed teeth participants | Ungraded |
Intervention NR Dental caries prevalence in primary teeth (cavitated lesions) · Children aged 5-6 years in Latin America and the Caribbean · Studies with data collected after 2000 (21st century), Other Latin American/Caribbean countries (non-Brazil) Does the Decline in Caries Prevalence of Latin American and Caribbean Children Continue in the New Century?… (2016) | Prevalence 0.70 [0.59, 0.79] | 8 studies · 8593 participants | Ungraded |
Dietary supplements (Catuama herbal compound) vs Placebo Adverse effects: drowsiness · People with primary burning mouth syndrome (BMS), that is, oral mucosal pain with no dental or medical cause for such… · short-term (up to 3 months), Catuama Interventions for treating burning mouth syndrome (2016) · Cochrane | RR 2.69 [0.11, 63.96] | 1 study · 72 participants | Very low |
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy plus standard care (surgery, antibiotics, oral rinse) vs Standard care alone (surgery, antibiotics, oral rinse) Healing of osteonecrosis - healed ('healed' vs 'improved', 'unchanged' or 'worse') · People with BRONJ (mean age ~66 years; most treated with bisphosphonates for cancer (multiple myeloma, breast cancer)… · 18 months Interventions for treating bisphosphonate‐related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) (2016) · Cochrane | RR 1.00 [0.25, 4.00] | 1 study · 18 participants | Ungraded |
Motivational interview plus oral health education vs Oral health education Self regulation: Average score (Treatment Self Regulation Questionnaire, high score = good) · People with serious mental illness (all included participants had schizophrenia); majority aged 18 to 65 years per… · External Oral health education (advice and training) for people with serious mental illness (2016) · Cochrane | MD 0.2 [-0.93, 1.33] | 1 study · 56 participants | Ungraded |
Calcium sulphate grafting of the periapical lesion vs No grafting Healing - 1 year · People requiring retreatment of periapical lesions (failed root canal therapy) · 1 year Endodontic procedures for retreatment of periapical lesions (2016) · Cochrane | RR 1.12 [0.83, 1.50] | 1 study · 18 participants | Low |
Monitoring (any means of observation, supervision, keeping under review, measuring or testing at intervals) vs No monitoring Service use: Emergency medical/dental treatment · People with serious mental illness (all included participants had schizophrenia); majority aged 18 to 65 years per… Oral health education (advice and training) for people with serious mental illness (2016) · Cochrane | No study reported useable data | 0 studies | No studies |
Intervention NR Dental caries prevalence in permanent teeth (cavitated lesions) · Children aged 11-13 years in Latin America and the Caribbean · Studies with data collected after 2000 (21st century), Other Latin American/Caribbean countries (non-Brazil) Does the Decline in Caries Prevalence of Latin American and Caribbean Children Continue in the New Century?… (2016) | Prevalence 0.64 [0.45, 0.79] | 12 studies · 7227 participants | Ungraded |
Intervention NR Serum inflammatory cytokines (IL-1b, IL-6) and cortisol in periodontitis · Registered job/family stress Social-Biological Interactions in Oral Disease: A 'Cells to Society' View. (2016) | Narrative (no effect size) No correlation between registered stress and serum IL-1b/IL-6/cortisol; untreated aggressive periodontitis showed pessimistic attitude and elevated serum IL-6 | 1 study | Ungraded |
Post‐treatment communication (text messaging) vs No communication (no text message) Patient‐reported pain intensity or pain relief (VAS, NRS or categorical scale) · People undergoing orthodontic treatment · Up to 7 days Non‐pharmacological interventions for alleviating pain during orthodontic treatment (2016) · Cochrane | Patient‐reported pain intensity or pain relief: VAS (1 mm to 100 mm) ‐ 24 hours. Assumed risk: Not measured. Corresponding risk: not estimable. 39 participants (1 RCT). Quality: very low. Comments: insufficient… | 1 study · 39 participants | Very low |
Vibratory stimulation (vibratory adjuncts) vs No vibration or placebo vibration Patient‐reported pain intensity or pain relief (VAS, NRS or categorical scale) · Adolescents and adults undergoing orthodontic treatment · 7 days Non‐pharmacological interventions for alleviating pain during orthodontic treatment (2016) · Cochrane | MD 1.28 [-3.16, 5.71] | 3 studies · 154 participants | Ungraded |
Benzodiazepines (topical clonazepam) vs Placebo Adverse effects: drowsiness · People with primary burning mouth syndrome (BMS), that is, oral mucosal pain with no dental or medical cause for such… · short-term (up to 3 months), topical clonazepam Interventions for treating burning mouth syndrome (2016) · Cochrane | RR 2.71 [0.84, 8.74] | 2 studies · 114 participants | Very low |
Zinc polycarboxylate cement vs Any other orthodontic band adhesive Outcome NR · Patients with full arch fixed orthodontic appliances with bands attached to molars (patients with cleft lip/palate or… Adhesives for fixed orthodontic bands (2016) · Cochrane | No trial was identified that examined the effectiveness of zinc polycarboxylate cement. | 0 studies | No studies |
Educational intervention with information only (theoretical dental health education, no practical training) vs Usual care Denture plaque · Residents of institutions for elderly people (nursing staff and residents took part in the education programme) Oral health educational interventions for nursing home staff and residents (2016) · Cochrane | One study (Schou 1989), at unclear risk of bias and analysing 114 residents, provided insufficient evidence to determine whether denture plaque scores are lower when educating residents or nursing staff without… | 1 study · 114 participants | Ungraded |