Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

516 questions · 950 findings · 74 reviews · Dental caries

No studies found 35 · 3.7%GRADE not reported 831 · 87.5%Very low 38 · 4%Low 26 · 2.7%Moderate 13 · 1.4%High 7 · 0.7%

Fixed orthodontic treatment with fixed (multibracket) appliances (exposure) vs None (single-group prevalence/incidence estimate)

Incidence of new ICLs (proportion of subjects developing new lesions) · Patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment with fixed (multibracket) appliances, followed for development of new ICLs

About 48% of patients developed new ICLs during fixed orthodontic treatment (pooled incidence 0.48, 95% CI 0.33-0.63; very low certainty; very high heterogeneity).

1 finding from 1 review

High-dose vitamin D3 supplementation during pregnancy (2400 IU/day from pregnancy week 24 to 1 week postpartum, in addition to the recommended 400 IU/day) vs Low-dose (standard) vitamin D supplementation as recommended in national pregnancy guidelines

Dental caries · For interventions, pregnant women, mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years…

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

2 findings from 1 review

High-frequency sugar consumption (three or more times daily) vs Low sugar intake (fewer than three times daily)

Dental caries prevalence · Nigerian individuals, including children and adults, with primary or permanent dentition

High-frequency sugar consumption was associated with 18% higher but non-significant odds of dental caries in Nigeria (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.87 to 1.59; I2=36%; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Dental caries vs Absence/lower severity of dental caries

Oral health-related quality of life · Adolescents (10-19 years)

Dental caries is associated with worse OHRQoL in adolescents, with greater severity linked to greater impact (narrative synthesis; no pooled estimate or GRADE rating).

1 finding from 1 review
  • Oral-health-related quality of life in adolescents: umbrella review. 2023 All outcomes
    Community/school/clinic settings; adolescents 10-19 years; included reviews conducted in multiple countries
    The impact of dental caries on OHRQoL was addressed in five systematic reviews [9, 26, 34, 36, 37]. Three articles report that the greater the severity of the carious lesion, the worse the impact on OHRQoL in…
    5 studies
    GRADE not reported

Higher family income / socioeconomic status vs Lower income / worse socioeconomic status

Oral health-related quality of life · Adolescents (10-19 years)

Higher family income / better socioeconomic status is associated with better OHRQoL in adolescents (narrative synthesis; no pooled estimate or GRADE rating).

1 finding from 1 review
  • Oral-health-related quality of life in adolescents: umbrella review. 2023 All outcomes
    Community/school/clinic settings; adolescents 10-19 years; included reviews conducted in multiple countries
    Adolescents from families with higher incomes and higher levels of maternal education have better OHRQoL scores [34]. Worse oral health status, older age, female sex and worse socioeconomic status were significantly…
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Higher parental / maternal education vs Lower parental education (reference)

Oral health-related quality of life · Adolescents (10-19 years)

Higher parental education is associated with better OHRQoL in adolescents (narrative synthesis; no pooled estimate or GRADE rating).

1 finding from 1 review
  • Oral-health-related quality of life in adolescents: umbrella review. 2023 All outcomes
    Community/school/clinic settings; adolescents 10-19 years; included reviews conducted in multiple countries
    Adolescents from families with higher incomes and higher levels of maternal education have better OHRQoL scores [34]. Children from families with high income, parental education and family economy had better OHRQoL [42].
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Malocclusion vs Absence/lower severity of malocclusion

Oral health-related quality of life · Adolescents (10-19 years)

Malocclusion is associated with worse oral health-related quality of life in adolescents (narrative synthesis; no pooled estimate or GRADE rating).

1 finding from 1 review

Male sex (boys) vs Female sex

Caries development in permanent teeth · School children and adolescents (6-18 years) followed from primary dentition (baseline examination before 72 months of age)

Gender is not associated with caries development in permanent teeth (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.02; low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Caries in first and second primary molars vs Reference (other primary tooth locations / caries-free)

Caries development in permanent teeth · School children and adolescents (6-18 years) followed from primary dentition (baseline examination before 72 months of age)

Caries in the first and second primary molars is the strongest tooth-specific predictor of caries in permanent teeth (RR 3.4; single study; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Primary dentition DMFT score 1-3 vs No caries in primary teeth (DMFT = 0)

Caries prevalence in permanent dentition · School children and adolescents (6-18 years) followed from primary dentition (baseline examination before 72 months of age)

A primary-dentition DMFT of 1-3 is associated with 1.5 times higher risk of caries in permanent teeth (single study; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Dentinal caries in primary dentition (at 5 years) vs Caries-free primary dentition

Dentinal caries in permanent (newly erupted) teeth · School children and adolescents (6-18 years) followed from primary dentition (baseline examination before 72 months of age)

Dentinal caries in the primary dentition is associated with about 3.2 times higher odds of dentinal caries in permanent teeth (single study; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Primary dentition DMFT score over 13 vs No caries in primary teeth (DMFT = 0)

Caries prevalence in permanent dentition · School children and adolescents (6-18 years) followed from primary dentition (baseline examination before 72 months of age)

A primary-dentition DMFT over 13 is associated with about 15 times higher risk of caries in permanent teeth (single study; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Caries in upper primary incisors vs Reference (other primary tooth locations / caries-free)

Caries development in permanent teeth · School children and adolescents (6-18 years) followed from primary dentition (baseline examination before 72 months of age)

Caries in upper primary incisors has the lowest tooth-specific predictive value for permanent-teeth caries (RR 1.6; single study; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Early childhood caries (ECC) vs Caries-free primary dentition

Caries development in permanent teeth · School children and adolescents (6-18 years) followed from primary dentition (baseline examination before 72 months of age)

Early childhood caries increases the likelihood of caries in permanent teeth roughly three-fold, but the certainty of evidence is very low (OR 3.22, 95% CI 2.80 to 3.71).

1 finding from 1 review

Enamel caries in primary dentition (at 5 years) vs Caries-free primary dentition

Dentinal caries in permanent (newly erupted) teeth · School children and adolescents (6-18 years) followed from primary dentition (baseline examination before 72 months of age)

Enamel caries in the primary dentition is associated with about 1.6 times higher odds of dentinal caries in permanent teeth (single study; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Oral cytology (e.g. OralCDx brush biopsy, CytID) vs Reference standard: examination and clinical evaluation by a physician/clinician with specialist knowledge or training (long-term follow-up accepted for those screened negative)

Outcome not reported · Apparently healthy adults not reporting symptoms of OPMD or OSCC, attending an organised screening or surveillance programme, or screened…

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review