Oral health-related quality of life · Mature permanent (molar) teeth with deep caries and symptoms indicative of irreversible pulpitis (spontaneous pain)
No included study reported oral health-related quality of life (a planned outcome), so no evidence is available.
1 finding from 1 review
no estimate extracted
0 studies
No studies found
Negative oral-health impact on daily performance (OIDP or Child-OIDP) · Adolescents (10-19 years)
For experience (history) of dental caries, adolescents had a significantly worse oral-health impact: PR 1.72 (95% CI 1.23 to 2.43) from 6 studies (I2=97%); ungraded, and not statistically different from the presence subgroup (p=0.19).
1 finding from 1 review
Impact of dental caries on the quality of life of adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. 2025 All outcomesCross-sectional (concurrent exposure and outcome); oral impacts recalled over the prior 6 months · School-based (17/20 studies), plus household and secondary-data surveys; low-, middle- and high-income countries (Brazil, Thailand, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Iran, Serbia, Nepal, India, South Africa, China) · Caries-definition subgroup: experience of dental caries
PR 1.72 [1.23, 2.43]
6 studies
GRADE not reported
Mother self-reported oral health behaviours · For interventions, pregnant women, mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years…
1 finding from 1 review
Child oral health behaviours · For interventions, pregnant women, mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years…
1 finding from 1 review
Mother self-reported oral health behaviours and attitudes · For interventions, pregnant women, mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years…
1 finding from 1 review
Child oral health behaviours · For interventions, pregnant women, mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years…
1 finding from 1 review
Oral mucosal moisture · Elderly (>60 years) and medically compromised adults with xerostomia / dry mouth
One small study found that chewing hard (but not soft) gum increased oral mucosal moisture.
1 finding from 1 review
Poor oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) · Adolescents (10-19 years)
Malocclusions probably have a negative effect on OHRQoL in adolescents, after adjustment for confounders (moderate certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Impaired OHRQoL, qualitative synthesis: relative effect not estimable across the 13 studies (13,864 participants); moderate quality of evidence (GRADE).
13 studies · 13864 participants
Moderate
Caries detection accuracy on intraoral images · Dental images of human beings
The review reported 93.3% accuracy for caries detection on intraoral images in Kühnisch et al. (Ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Streptococcus mutans load in the oral cavity (saliva and/or dental plaque) · Adults and children (general population)
In a sensitivity analysis assuming a 0.95 baseline-to-endpoint correlation for the sugar-free gum arm, the effect remained significant (SMD -0.55, 95% CI -0.80 to -0.30; 13 trials, I2 73%); certainty not formally graded.
2 findings from 1 review
Streptococcus mutans load in the oral cavity (saliva and/or dental plaque) · Adults and children (general population)
Xylitol-only sugar-free gum significantly reduced Streptococcus mutans load versus pooled controls (SMD -0.46, 95% CI -0.64 to -0.28; 12 trials, I2 43%); certainty not formally graded.
1 finding from 1 review
Oral mucosa inflammation · adults
The review reported mixed findings for oral mucosa inflammation in reflux patients and did not formally demonstrate causation.
1 finding from 1 review
no estimate extracted
5 studies
GRADE not reported
Salivary function impairment (buffering capacity, flow rate, oral pH) · Adults with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR)
Reflux is associated with impaired salivary function (notably reduced buffering capacity) as a proposed pathophysiological mechanism, based on several ungraded studies.
1 finding from 1 review
Mixed/controversial salivary findings: reduced salivary buffering capacity supported in three studies (Correa, Holbrook, Filipi) with low oral pH and reduced flow as additional factors in GERD patients, but Meurman and Schroeder found no significant salivary abnormalities; no pooled estimate.
6 studies
GRADE not reported
Oral/pharyngeal microbiota modifications · Adults with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR)
No eligible studies investigated reflux-related modifications of the oral or pharyngeal microbiota; this is an evidence gap identified by the review.
1 finding from 1 review
no estimate extracted
0 studies
No studies found
Dental erosion, alveolar bone destruction and oral/pharyngeal lesions · Rat models with surgically induced or chronic acid gastroesophageal reflux
In experimental rat models, induced gastroesophageal reflux caused dental erosion, alveolar bone destruction and oral lesions compared with controls, supporting biological plausibility; evidence is ungraded animal research.
1 finding from 1 review
Two rat-model studies found significantly higher rates of dental erosion, alveolar bone destruction and osteomyelitis (Higo) and shorter molar crown heights with dentin exposure, inflammatory infiltration and fibrosis…
2 studies
GRADE not reported
Oral mucosa inflammation (gingivitis, periodontitis, mucosal lesions) · Adults with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR)
The association between reflux and oral mucosa inflammation (gingivitis/periodontitis) is inconsistent across five studies and remains ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Five studies examined gingival/periodontal and mucosal disorders with inconsistent results: some reported more frequent mucosal inflammatory findings in GERD patients (Yoshikawa, Watanabe, Vinesh 25.5% periodontitis,…
5 studies
GRADE not reported
Mucosal irritation / oral soft tissue allergic reaction (signs of sensitivity) · Children and adolescents aged 16 years or less
1 finding from 1 review
One trial (Rugg-Gunn 1973) reported incompletely on oral soft tissue irritation/signs of sensitivity (allergic reaction): "no cases of mucosal hypersensitivity after periodical examinations of every subject". 434…
1 study · 434 participants
Very low
Temporal change in the proportion of dentists utilizing SE/SW · Dentists managing deep carious lesions in permanent vital teeth
The proportion of dentists choosing selective or stepwise removal rose significantly over time, by about 1.6% per calendar year (meta-regression, p<0.05), a trend the authors described as borderline (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Mucosal irritation / oral soft tissue allergic reaction (signs of sensitivity) · Children and adolescents aged 16 years or less
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Femoral neck bone mineral density (FN-BMD) · Older or community-dwelling adults
Meta-analysis of randomised trials of vitamin D supplementation for Bone mineral density in femoral neck, Community-dwelling adults: WMD 1.10 (95% CI 0.40 to 1.90), statistically significant. Umbrella review outcome-level evidence grade: Suggestive.
1 finding from 1 review
WMD 1.10 [0.40, 1.90]
8 studies
GRADE not reported