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
Arrest of dentine caries · Children with active dentine caries in primary teeth
One study reported 30% silver diamine fluoride effectively arrested dentine caries in primary teeth; ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Arrest of dentine caries · Children with active dentine caries
One trial found a single application of 12% silver diamine fluoride did not arrest dentine caries; ungraded.
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
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
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
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
Treatment success (caries lesion arrest or restoration survival) · Children (aged 3-11 y) with cavitated caries lesions in primary teeth
At 6 months, SDF had significantly higher treatment success than placebo (OR 33.62).
1 finding from 1 review
OR 33.62 [3.01, 375.92]
44 studies
GRADE not reported
Caries arrest · Children with dentine carious lesions (ICDAS 4-5) in primary teeth
Twice-yearly 38% SDF was reported to arrest more caries than once-yearly application (24-month rates 91% vs 79%; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Treatment success (caries lesion arrest or restoration survival) · Children (aged 3-11 y) with cavitated caries lesions in primary teeth
At 12 months, the Hall technique had significantly higher treatment success than SDF (OR 3.23; moderate certainty).
2 findings from 1 review
OR 3.23 [1.13, 9.22]
43 studies
Moderate
OR 4.87 [1.23, 19.30]
44 studies
Moderate
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
Remineralisation of early enamel caries · Children with early enamel caries in erupting permanent first molars
One pilot study found 10% silver diamine fluoride worked about as well as glass ionomer restoration and tooth-brushing for remineralising early enamel caries; ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Caries arrest · Children with dentine carious lesions (ICDAS 4-5) in primary teeth
A second meta-analysis reported odds ratios of 2.44 to 3.63 favouring 38% SDF over fluoride varnish/water for caries arrest (ungraded).
2 findings from 1 review
OR (caries arrest) OR 2.44-3.63 (range); 2.44 = Chu estimate including 30% SDF
3 studies
GRADE not reported
Proportion (caries arrest) 81 [68, 89]
12 studies
GRADE not reported
Arrest of advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface · Primary teeth with advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface
38% SDF solution biannually compared with 12% SDF solution biannually: RR 1.29 (95% CI 1.21 to 1.38); High certainty.
1 finding from 1 review
Arrest of advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface · Preschool children with advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface (primary teeth)
30% SDF solution (applied annually) probably did not differ from 30% SDF solution (once weekly for 3 weeks) for arrest or reversal of cavitated coronal carious lesions (RR 1.13, 95% CI 0.95 to 1.34; moderate certainty).
3 findings from 1 review
Arrest of advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface · Preschool children with advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface (primary teeth)
38% SDF solution (applied annually) was more effective than 12% SDF solution (applied annually) for arrest or reversal of cavitated coronal carious lesions (RR 1.27, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.4; high certainty).
4 findings from 1 review
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Arrest of advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface · Preschool children with advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface (primary teeth)
12% SDF solution (applied annually) did not differ from 12% SDF solution (applied biannually) for arrest or reversal of cavitated coronal carious lesions (RR 0.94, 95% CI 0.87 to 1.02; high certainty).
4 findings from 1 review
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Arrest or reversal of noncavitated and cavitated root carious lesions · Adults (including institutionalized/older adults) with noncavitated and cavitated carious lesions on root surfaces (permanent teeth)
38% SDF solution (applied annually) may not differ from 38% SDF + potassium iodide solution (applied annually) for arrest or reversal of root carious lesions (RR 0.8, 95% CI 0.25 to 2.61; low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Arrest of advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface · Preschool children with advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface (primary teeth)
38% SDF solution (applied biannually) was more effective than 12% SDF solution (applied biannually) for arrest or reversal of cavitated coronal carious lesions (RR 1.3, 95% CI 1.21 to 1.41; high certainty).
4 findings from 1 review
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Arrest of advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface · Preschool children with advanced cavitated carious lesions on any coronal surface (primary teeth)
38% SDF solution (applied biannually) was more effective than 38% SDF solution (applied annually) for arrest or reversal of cavitated coronal carious lesions (RR 1.21, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.3; high certainty).
4 findings from 1 review
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