Salivary IL-6 level (pg/mL) · Children and young adults (3-25 years)
Salivary IL-6 levels are significantly higher in children and young adults with active dental caries than in caries-free or mild-caries controls (SMD 11.60 pg/mL, 95% CI 6.27 to 16.94; 11 studies); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Salivary IL-8 level (pg/mL) · Children and young adults (3-25 years)
Salivary IL-8 levels are higher in children and young adults with active dental caries than in controls but the difference is not statistically significant (SMD 57.20 pg/mL, 95% CI -18.60 to 133.00; 7 studies); ungraded.
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
Relative abundance of S. mutans in saliva · Systemically healthy individuals (children and adults, aged 40 months to 50 years) assessed for dental caries
The relative abundance of S. mutans in saliva is significantly higher in caries-active than caries-free individuals (pooled SMD 1.48, 95% CI 0.45 to 2.50), but heterogeneity is very high (I2=90%); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Oral microbial community composition and diversity (other caries-associated taxa; alpha- and beta-diversity) · Systemically healthy individuals (children and adults, aged 40 months to 50 years) assessed for dental caries
No oral microbial taxon other than S. mutans was consistently associated with caries; alpha-diversity mostly did not differ between caries-active and caries-free groups and beta-diversity findings were mixed (ungraded, narrative).
1 finding from 1 review
Prevalence (detection frequency) of S. mutans in plaque · Systemically healthy individuals (children and adults, aged 40 months to 50 years) assessed for dental caries
S. mutans prevalence in plaque is significantly higher in caries-active than caries-free individuals (pooled OR 2.58, 95% CI 1.65 to 4.02; I2=16%); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Dental caries · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH)
Among HIV+ children, HAART versus no HAART showed no significant difference in the odds of dental caries by DMFT in cross-sectional studies (OR 1.29, 95% CI 0.59 to 2.84; ungraded).
2 findings from 1 review
Association between antiretroviral therapy and dental caries in children and adolescents with HIV: a systematic review… 2025 All outcomesNot specified (cross-sectional) · Dental examination of children/adolescents with HIV in clinic and community settings; low- and middle-income countries (Brazil, India, Nigeria, Cambodia, Uganda, West Africa) · Cross-sectional studies; DMFT index
OR 1.29 [0.59, 2.84]
Studies not reported
GRADE not reported
Association between antiretroviral therapy and dental caries in children and adolescents with HIV: a systematic review… 2025 All outcomesNot specified (cross-sectional) · Dental examination of children/adolescents with HIV in clinic and community settings; low- and middle-income countries (Brazil, India, Nigeria, Cambodia, Uganda, West Africa) · Cross-sectional studies; deft index
OR 1.09 [0.65, 1.82]
Studies not reported
GRADE not reported
Dental caries in permanent teeth · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH)
Among HIV+ children, HAART was associated with a significantly higher DMFT index than no HAART in case-control studies (MD 2.02, 95% CI 1.24 to 2.80; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Caries in primary teeth: dmft (3 years) · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH)
Among HIV+ children, HAART versus no HAART showed no significant difference in the dmft index in case-control studies (MD 0.66, 95% CI -0.26 to 1.58; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Treatment failure (planned; no eligible studies) · Children with carious primary teeth after vital or non-vital pulp therapy
No eligible studies were found evaluating bio-active restorative materials for restoring carious primary teeth after pulp therapy.
1 finding from 1 review
Not applicable (no eligible studies) · Children with carious primary teeth (no pulp therapy)
No eligible RCTs assessed new bio-active restorative materials in carious primary teeth; this is an evidence gap identified by the review.
1 finding from 1 review
OLT and VSC scores · Adolescents and adults aged over 16 years with clinical or self-assessed halitosis of oral origin; excluding induced or physiological…
1 finding from 1 review
Ion release (fluoride, calcium, phosphate) · Human enamel specimens around orthodontic brackets (in vitro)
In vitro, among the 5 BAG ion-release studies only Ga-doped BAG (GaMBN, Song [31]) reported a significant increase (phosphate, up to 14 days); a general significant fluoride/calcium/phosphate increase across all 5 is not supported (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Enamel remineralization / anti-demineralization extent · Human enamel specimens around orthodontic brackets (in vitro)
In vitro, most bioactive glass-containing orthodontic adhesives (9 of 13 studies) showed significant enamel remineralization/anti-demineralization versus control, but the evidence is weak (predominantly high risk of bias, methodological heterogeneity, no meta-analysis; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Out of 13 studies that evaluated bioactive glass particles/nanoparticles, 9 reported definitive statistically significant remineralization potential compared to control orthodontic adhesives [17, 21-24, 26-28, 31]; one…
13 studies
GRADE not reported
Ultrasonic instrumentation used alone (any ultrasonic device designed specifically for root canal treatment and capable of the active or passive removal of dentine within the root canal) vs Hand instrumentation used alone (files and reamers used manually)
Outcome not reported · People over 18 years of age with single or multiple permanent teeth with a completely formed apex and no evidence of internal resorption,…
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Hand instrumentation in conjunction with (as an adjunct to) an ultrasonic device designed specifically for root canal treatment and capable of the active or passive removal of dentine within the root canal vs Hand instrumentation used alone (files and reamers used manually)
Outcome not reported · People over 18 years of age with single or multiple permanent teeth with a completely formed apex and no evidence of internal resorption,…
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
new active or inactive carious lesions · Children with dental caries in permanent (first) molars
SDF had a 72% preventative fraction; no pooled estimate or GRADE rating was reported.
1 finding from 1 review
Inactive (arrested) carious lesions on permanent first molars · Children with dental caries in permanent (first) molars
Six-monthly SDF produced significantly more inactive (arrested) lesions than no treatment in children's permanent molars (0.3 vs 0.1; p<0.05; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Intervention not reported
New active carious lesions (permanent first molars)
1 finding from 1 review
Serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) · Patients with cardiovascular disease and chronic periodontitis
1 finding from 1 review
Serum hs-CRP tested at one year; as loss to follow-up was almost 90%, data not considered useful for analysis (no usable estimate).
1 study · 37 participants
GRADE not reported