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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

2,745 questions · 4,389 findings · 203 reviews · Dental caries

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No studies found 39 · 0.9%GRADE not reported 3,844 · 87.6%Very low 198 · 4.5%Low 137 · 3.1%Moderate 134 · 3.1%High 37 · 0.8%

Simple childhood caries prediction models with at least two predictors vs No competing model

Dental caries discrimination (area under the curve) · Children or adolescents

The Luo (2021) model had an AUC of 0.77 (95% CI 0.76 to 0.77).

6 findings from 1 review
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HIV-infected children on antiretroviral therapy (HI) vs HIV-exposed but uninfected children (HEU)

Dental caries · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH)

HIV-infected children on ART had higher odds of dental caries than HEU children in a cohort study (OR 2.88, 95% CI 1.71 to 4.84; ungraded).

2 findings from 1 review

Ion-releasing restorations (IRR): RMGIC, HVGIC, GIC, compomer/PMRC, giomer vs Composite resin (CR), including bulk-fill composite

Occlusion · Children receiving dental restorations (aged 4-11 years; primary teeth; Class I/II/V cavities)

Occlusion was assessed in a single trial and was not pooled or GRADE-rated (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) vs Reference standard (bitewing radiography, ADA classification, ICDAS II)

Occlusal caries detection: specificity · Patients (in vivo); permanent and primary teeth, occlusal surfaces

In vivo, QLF pooled specificity for occlusal caries in permanent teeth was 0.80 (3 studies; ungraded).

2 findings from 1 review

Veillonella spp. abundance

Future caries · Children without a previous history of caries

Veillonella spp. predicted future caries among children without a caries history, but no quantitative effect estimate was reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Replacement of the defective restoration vs Repair of the defective restoration

Amalgam: Preference for replacement over repair - Scenario 8: disruption of occlusal integrity · Dentists managing a defective direct amalgam restoration (posterior occlusal Class I; standardized vignette of a 30-year-old,…

For a defective amalgam restoration with disruption of occlusal integrity, surveyed dentists most often preferred replacement over repair (pooled RR 1.70; p < 0.001); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

High edentulism prevalence vs Not applicable

Oral health-related quality of life · people aged 60 years and older living in the community

No statistically significant difference in OHRQoL was reported by edentulism prevalence.

1 finding from 1 review

Genetically predicted periodontitis vs Lower genetically predicted periodontitis liability

Osteoporosis with pathological fracture · European GWAS participants

The SVMR Weighted Median interval included the null.

3 findings from 1 review

Partial pulpotomy vs Full (complete) pulpotomy

Patient- and clinical-reported outcomes (tooth survival, clinical/radiographic success, pain) · Asymptomatic permanent teeth with deep caries (no symptoms)

No studies compared partial versus full pulpotomy in asymptomatic permanent teeth with deep caries, so no evidence is available.

1 finding from 1 review

Dental treatments, care, and services (the decision context) vs No comparator

Willingness to pay for dental care · (Potential) patients with freedom of choice regarding dental treatments, including parents and caregivers deciding for children or…

Across 37 willingness-to-pay studies, patients' WTP varied with treatment type and sociodemographic factors, being higher for aesthetic treatments (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

Electronic cigarette use vs Non-smokers

TNF-α level · People who use electronic cigarettes

The review reports no significant e-cigarette effect on salivary TNF-α.

3 findings from 1 review

Higher drinking-water fluoride exposure vs Null / lowest drinking-water fluoride exposure (reference)

Fracture · general population

Non-linear positive dose-response: little change in overall fracture risk below ~1.5 mg/L drinking-water fluoride, with risk increasing above that threshold (RR 1.06, 1.19, 1.35 at 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 mg/L vs null); ungraded (4 studies).

4 findings from 1 review
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Dental treatments, care, and services (the decision context) vs No comparator

Factors of choice influencing dental treatment decisions (overall) · (Potential) patients with freedom of choice regarding dental treatments, including parents and caregivers deciding for children or…

A wide range of factors (n=101 in three categories) influence patients' dental treatment decisions; the review identified and synthesized them qualitatively without grading certainty (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Fluoride-releasing resin-based sealant vs Non-invasive measures (fluoride varnish; no intervention)

Radiographic proximal caries lesion progression · Children and adults with non-cavitated proximal (interproximal) caries lesions in primary and/or permanent teeth (ages 3-45)

Pooling 2 trials, resin-based sealants reduced radiographic proximal caries progression versus non-invasive measures (OR 0.24; ungraded subgroup).

1 finding from 1 review

Dental treatments, care, and services (the decision context)

Pain as a factor of choice · (Potential) patients with freedom of choice regarding dental treatments, including parents and caregivers deciding for children or…

Pain was identified as a factor of choice in 49 articles.

1 finding from 1 review

Anorexia nervosa (as exposure; diagnosed by DSM-III/III-R/IV/V) vs Healthy controls

Percentage of bleeding on probing (BOP) · Patients with anorexia nervosa aged >=12 years (mean age ~18.4; entirely female in reported data), general community-dwelling population

Anorexia nervosa is associated with significantly increased bleeding on probing versus healthy controls (MD 16.57%, 95% CI 12.89 to 20.25; low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review