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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

69 questions · 119 findings · 20 reviews

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No studies found 0 · 0%GRADE not reported 103 · 86.6%Very low 7 · 5.9%Low 6 · 5%Moderate 3 · 2.5%High 0 · 0%

Theory-based oral health education/promotion interventions (HBM, TPB, SCT, HAPA, TTM, PMT, SOC, PRECEDE-PROCEED, MI) vs Control (waitlist, routine/standard oral health education, or minimal intervention)

Mean DMFT (decayed, missing, filled permanent teeth) · school‐age children and adolescents

Theory-based interventions showed no significant effect on DMFT scores (SMD -0.11; low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Theory-based oral health education/promotion interventions (HBM, TPB, SCT, HAPA, TTM, PMT, SOC, PRECEDE-PROCEED, MI) vs Control (waitlist, routine/standard oral health education, or minimal intervention)

Periodontal health status · school‐age children and adolescents

Theory-based interventions significantly improved periodontal health (SMD -1.18; moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Theory-based oral health education/promotion interventions (HBM, TPB, SCT, HAPA, TTM, PMT, SOC, PRECEDE-PROCEED, MI) vs Control (waitlist, routine/standard oral health education, or minimal intervention)

Oral health behaviour (1-9 scale) · school‐age children and adolescents

Theory-based interventions significantly improved oral health behavior (SMD 2.58; low certainty), with very high heterogeneity.

1 finding from 1 review

Theory-based oral health education/promotion interventions (HBM, TPB, SCT, HAPA, TTM, PMT, SOC, PRECEDE-PROCEED, MI) vs Control (waitlist, routine/standard oral health education, or minimal intervention)

Oral health knowledge (1-9 scale) · school‐age children and adolescents

Theory-based interventions significantly improved oral health knowledge (SMD 1.09; low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Theory-based oral health education/promotion interventions (HBM, TPB, SCT, HAPA, TTM, PMT, SOC, PRECEDE-PROCEED, MI) vs Control (waitlist, routine/standard oral health education, or minimal intervention)

Plaque index (PI) / oral hygiene · school‐age children and adolescents

Theory-based interventions significantly reduced dental plaque (SMD -1.92; moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Higher parental education (tertiary) vs Lower parental education (reference)

Early childhood caries (ECC) · Children aged 0-5 years in North Africa

Paternal tertiary education was associated with lower odds of ECC (OR 0.381).

3 findings from 1 review

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

1.23% APF gel + oral health education vs Oral health education

Arrest or reversal of noncavitated facial/lingual carious lesions · Children and adults with noncavitated carious lesions on facial/lingual surfaces (primary and permanent teeth)

1.23% APF gel + oral health education was probably more effective than Oral health education for arrest or reversal of facial/lingual carious lesions (RR 2.47, 95% CI 1.95 to 3.13; moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

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

Dental caries · Healthy children and adolescents in the United Arab Emirates

The association between parental education and caries was inconsistent; father's (but not consistently mother's) education was inversely associated with caries in some studies (narrative synthesis; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Low maternal education (<=6 years of schooling) vs Higher maternal education (>6 years)

Poor oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) · Children aged 3-12 years

Lower maternal education was associated with poor OHRQoL (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.00-1.23; 4 studies; high heterogeneity; CI lower bound at the null; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Gamified oral health interventions (mobile apps, serious games, augmented reality, game-based education) vs Conventional or traditional oral health education, or non-gamified interventions (comparator varied; several studies were single-arm/uncontrolled)

Adherence to oral hygiene routines by people with ID or their carers · Children or adolescents

Gamified interventions appear to increase children's engagement and adherence to oral hygiene routines, but the evidence is narrative and ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review
  • The Application of Gamification in Children's Oral Health Management: Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes
    Post-intervention (predominantly short-term; long-term follow-up in a minority of studies) · School-based settings, specialized dental clinics, and home-based environments
    The regular use rate was significantly higher (72.4%) in the gamified mobile health app group than in the nongamified intervention group (48.3%) [Zolfaghari 2021]; quiz-based challenges in mobile apps encouraged higher…
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Gamified oral health interventions (mobile apps, serious games, augmented reality, game-based education) vs Conventional or traditional oral health education, or non-gamified interventions (comparator varied; several studies were single-arm/uncontrolled)

Plaque index (PI) / oral hygiene · Children or adolescents

Gamified interventions appear to improve plaque control and oral hygiene status in children versus conventional methods, but the evidence is narrative and ungraded (individual-study P values only).

1 finding from 1 review
  • The Application of Gamification in Children's Oral Health Management: Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes
    Post-intervention (predominantly short-term; long-term follow-up in a minority of studies) · School-based settings, specialized dental clinics, and home-based environments
    In the gamified mobile health app group, plaque control was superior (P<.05) compared with the conventional method group [Zolfaghari 2021]; a gamified/reminder sticker-book group showed a significant improvement in…
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Gamified oral health interventions (mobile apps, serious games, augmented reality, game-based education) vs Conventional or traditional oral health education, or non-gamified interventions (comparator varied; several studies were single-arm/uncontrolled)

Oral health knowledge (1-9 scale) · Children or adolescents

Gamified interventions appear to improve children's oral health knowledge compared with conventional education, but the evidence is narrative and ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review
  • The Application of Gamification in Children's Oral Health Management: Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes
    Post-intervention (predominantly short-term; long-term follow-up in a minority of studies) · School-based settings, specialized dental clinics, and home-based environments
    The effectiveness of digital-based interventions was generally positive, with 38% (9/24) of the experimental studies reporting improvements in oral health knowledge and behaviors; game-based teaching significantly…
    9 studies
    GRADE not reported

Gamified oral health interventions (mobile apps, serious games, augmented reality, game-based education) vs Conventional or traditional oral health education, or non-gamified interventions (comparator varied; several studies were single-arm/uncontrolled)

Oral hygiene behavior (brushing habits, preventive dental visits, dietary choices) · Children or adolescents

Gamified interventions appear to improve oral hygiene behaviors (brushing habits, preventive dental visits) in children, but the evidence is narrative and ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review
  • The Application of Gamification in Children's Oral Health Management: Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes
    Post-intervention (predominantly short-term; long-term follow-up in a minority of studies) · School-based settings, specialized dental clinics, and home-based environments
    A gesture-based motion-capture game enhanced brushing independence and skill retention (P<.001) [Kang 2021]; 58.8% of caregivers reported their children brushed more often when using gamified applications [France…
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Sociodemographic and behavioural factors (older age, lower education, lower income, poor oral hygiene/brushing, smoking, disadvantaged/slum residence, sex) vs Referent groups (younger, higher education/income, better oral hygiene, non-slum residence)

Determinants of oral diseases · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs

Age, education, income, oral-hygiene behaviour, dental-visit pattern and slum/disadvantaged residence are associated with oral disease; gender effects are disease-specific; ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

38% SDF plus oral health education vs oral health instruction plus water

new root-surface carious lesions or restorations · community-dwelling older adults with root caries

SDF plus oral health education had a 33% preventative fraction at 24 months; no pooled estimate or GRADE rating was reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Populations with a lower proportion of university-educated people (<33.78% with university level) vs Not applicable

Dental caries · Adult participants in 25 meta-regression studies

The Model 1 adjusted meta-regression coefficient for lower university education was -4.132903.

2 findings from 1 review

Community and caregiver oral health education plus media campaign vs Pre-intervention BBTD rate

Baby bottle tooth decay prevalence · Alaska Native and American Indian Head Start children

High-intensity community education was associated with a 33% reduction in BBTD prevalence, without a GRADE rating.

3 findings from 1 review

Community and caregiver oral health education plus media campaign vs Pre-intervention BBTD rate

Baby bottle tooth decay prevalence · Alaska Native Head Start children

The Alaska Native site had a 20% increase in BBTD prevalence, without a GRADE rating.

1 finding from 1 review