Secondary prevention of caries · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Primary caries prevention · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Caries arrest · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
2 findings from 1 review
Caries arrestment at the tooth level · Children and adults with active dental caries (aged 1-50; mostly preschool/school children with primary dentition)
Pooling two trials, SDF and ART/glass ionomer cement showed no clear difference in tooth-level caries arrestment (OR 1.22, wide CI; ungraded subgroup).
1 finding from 1 review
Aesthetics · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
1 finding from 1 review
1 study reported that 45% of parents were satisfied with appearance of their child's teeth; data not reported by study group. 1 study reported that 1 of 34 caregivers in SDF group were "annoyed with teeth appearance",…
2 studies · 248 participants
Very low
Caries/restoration status in permanent molars · Children with dental caries in permanent (first) molars
SDF gave significantly better caries/restoration outcomes than ART over 9 months in children's permanent molars (p=0.004; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Satyarup et al. (2022): 38% SDF vs ART; SDF group 5.6% carious teeth with partly lost restorations vs ART 16.7% carious with partly lost and 8.9% carious with completely lost restorations (p=0.004, favoring SDF).
1 study · 190 participants
GRADE not reported
restoration and caries status · children with caries in permanent molars
The review reported SDF was beneficial for arresting caries; no effect estimate or GRADE rating was reported.
1 finding from 1 review
Oral health-related quality of life · Children with dental caries
SDF did not significantly differ from atraumatic restorative treatment for oral health-related quality of life (MD 0.02, 95% CI -0.32 to 0.36; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Oral health-related quality of life · Children with dental caries
SDF plus fluoride varnish did not significantly differ from ART plus fluoride varnish for oral health-related quality of life (MD 0.16, 95% CI -0.1 to 0.42; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Caries arrest · Children (age 1-10 years) with active cavitated dentin caries lesions in primary molars
SDF was not significantly better than ART at arresting caries (pooled ES 0.05, 95% CI -0.42 to 0.51; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Coronal carious lesions arrest · Children with coronal carious lesions (primary dentition)
One review reported a risk ratio of 1.66 favouring SDF over fluoride varnish or ART for arresting coronal caries in primary teeth (no CI; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
RR 1.66
2 studies
GRADE not reported
Participant experience · Older adults with root caries in permanent (mature) teeth (mean age 75 years)
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Discomfort associated with the procedure · People with dental caries in primary teeth (mainly children)
ART using high-viscosity glass ionomer cement (H-GIC), hand… showed no clear difference in participant experience (discomfort during procedure) compared with conventional treatment using H-GIC (rotary instruments); GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
Participant experience (dental anxiety) · Children with carious primary teeth
ART using composite resin showed no clear difference in participant experience (dental anxiety) compared with conventional treatment using composite resin; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
Restoration failure (primary dentition) · Children with carious primary teeth
ART using H-GIC showed no clear difference in restoration failure (primary teeth) compared with conventional treatment using amalgam; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
OR 2.15 [0.73, 6.35]
2 studies
GRADE not reported
Restoration failure (primary dentition) · Children with carious primary teeth
ART using H-GIC led to higher restoration failure (primary teeth) compared with conventional treatment using composite (with local anaesthetic); GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
Pain (during procedure, primary dentition) · People with dental caries in primary teeth (mainly children)
ART using high-viscosity glass ionomer cement (H-GIC), hand… showed no clear difference in pain (during procedure, primary dentition) compared with conventional treatment using H-GIC (rotary instruments) (low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Costs (direct and indirect) · People with dental caries in primary teeth (mainly children)
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Pain (primary dentition) · Children with carious primary teeth
ART using H-GIC showed no clear difference in pain (primary dentition) compared with conventional treatment using composite (with local anaesthetic); GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
OR 2.22 [0.51, 9.61]
1 study
GRADE not reported
Restoration failure (primary dentition) · Children and adolescents with dental caries (primary teeth and permanent immature teeth)
ART using glass ionomer cement (GIC) showed no clear difference in restoration failure (primary teeth) compared with conventional treatment using amalgam; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review