Incidence of initial enamel caries / white spot lesions adjacent to bracket base (subject level, dichotomized) · Orthodontic patients (any age) undergoing orthodontic treatment (mostly fixed appliances)
Adding a fluoride mouthrinse to daily fluoride toothpaste produced a small reduction in the incidence of initial caries/white spot lesions adjacent to brackets (pooled risk difference -0.07, 95% CI -0.14 to -0.01; 5 studies, 491 subjects), but the authors judged the overall evidence inconclusive (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Side effects or other adverse events · Orthodontic patients (any age) undergoing orthodontic treatment (mostly fixed appliances)
No adverse effects were reported in any of the seven included studies (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Salivary Streptococcus mutans count and plaque index · Adults with dental caries
No meta-analysis was conducted; postbiotic lozenges were reported to reduce salivary Streptococcus mutans counts and plaque index versus placebo.
1 finding from 1 review
no estimate extracted
1 study
GRADE not reported
Caries arrestment at the individual (patient) level · Children and adults with active dental caries (aged 1-50; mostly preschool/school children with primary dentition)
Compared with other caries-management methods, SDF may increase caries arrestment at the individual level, but the pooled estimate is very imprecise (low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Caries arrestment at the surface level · Children and adults without systemic diseases affecting dental health
SDF showed no clear advantage for caries arrestment at the surface level.
1 finding from 1 review
Prevention of new caries (caries development/increment) · Preschool children (primary dentition) at risk of new caries
Limited evidence from two trials suggests SDF may help prevent new caries, but preventive efficacy was not meta-analyzed and remains uncertain (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Plaque index (PI) / oral hygiene · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
In a subgroup analysis, milk-based probiotics reduced the bacterial plaque index more than other presentations (MD -0.10, 95%CI -0.20 to -0.00; p-interaction=0.01); not GRADE-rated.
1 finding from 1 review
Dental caries in children · Adolescents (12-18 years) without background systemic disease
In a subgroup analysis, probiotics reduced the number of caries in adolescents (MD -0.60, 95%CI -0.92 to -0.28; p-interaction=0.02); not GRADE-rated.
1 finding from 1 review
Gingival index (GI) · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
Probiotics probably make little to no difference to the gingival index versus control (MD 0.04, 95%CI -0.18 to 0.27; low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Salivary pH · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
In a subgroup analysis, mouth-rinse probiotics reduced salivary pH (MD -0.40, 95%CI -0.54 to -0.26; p-interaction<0.01); not GRADE-rated.
1 finding from 1 review
Efficacy of Probiotic Consumption on Oral Outcomes in Children and/or Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis. 2024 All outcomesHealthy children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without systemic disease; RCTs from multiple countries (India, Thailand, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Poland, Colombia, Saudi Arabia); mostly school/community and clinic settings · Probiotic presentation: mouth rinse (vs other presentations; p-interaction<0.01)
MD -0.40 [-0.54, -0.26]
Studies not reported
GRADE not reported
Caries arrestment at the individual (patient) level · Children and adults without systemic diseases affecting dental health
SDF showed a higher caries-arrestment proportion at the individual level, but the reported difference was not statistically significant.
1 finding from 1 review
Lactobacillus count (CFU/mL) · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
Probiotics may make little to no difference to Lactobacillus count versus control (MD -0.78 CFU/mL, 95%CI -1.65 to 0.09; very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Salivary pH · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
Probiotics may make little to no difference to salivary pH versus control (MD -0.12 pH units, 95%CI -0.72 to 0.48; very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Dental caries in children · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
Probiotics probably make little to no difference to the number of dental caries versus control (MD -0.24 carious pieces, 95%CI -0.72 to 0.23; low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Caries arrestment at the individual (patient) level · Children and adults with active dental caries (aged 1-50; mostly preschool/school children with primary dentition)
Pooling two trials, SDF markedly increased individual-level caries arrestment versus placebo (OR 18.10; ungraded subgroup).
1 finding from 1 review
Caries arrestment at the tooth level · Children and adults without systemic diseases affecting dental health
SDF showed a higher caries-free proportion at the tooth level, but the reported difference was not statistically significant.
1 finding from 1 review
Adverse effects (tooth staining and other side effects) · Children and adults with active dental caries (aged 1-50; mostly preschool/school children with primary dentition)
SDF commonly causes black staining of arrested lesions; only mild, transient adverse events were reported, with no major adverse events (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Streptococcus mutans count · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
Probiotics probably reduce Streptococcus mutans count versus control (MD -0.40 CFU/mL, 95%CI -0.57 to -0.24; moderate certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Gingival bleeding (various bleeding indices) · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
Only one trial (Borrell 2021) reported the bleeding index, showing slightly more bleeding with probiotics (MD 0.10, 95%CI 0.02 to 0.18); not pooled or GRADE-rated.
1 finding from 1 review
Plaque index (PI) / oral hygiene · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
Probiotics may make little to no difference to the bacterial plaque index versus control (MD 0.21, 95%CI -0.55 to 0.96; very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review