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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

2,297 questions · 3,638 findings · 215 reviews · All outcomes

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No studies found 98 · 2.7%GRADE not reported 2,946 · 81%Very low 263 · 7.2%Low 158 · 4.3%Moderate 137 · 3.8%High 36 · 1%

Electronic cigarette use vs Non-smokers

IL-6 level · People who use electronic cigarettes

The review reports that GCF evidence was limited and may show a potential association.

3 findings from 1 review

Quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) vs Reference standard (histology; some ICDAS/radiography)

Occlusal caries detection: sensitivity · Extracted human teeth (in vitro); permanent and primary teeth, occlusal surfaces

In vitro, QLF pooled sensitivity for occlusal caries detection was 0.83 (5 studies; ungraded).

3 findings from 1 review

Self-assembling/remineralizing peptide (e.g., P11-4, PAA-PASP) vs Calcium phosphate agent (e.g., CPP-ACP, Ca/P-PILP, niobophosphate)

Immediate (24 h) resin-dentin bond strength (MPa) · Artificial caries-affected dentin (ACAD) in extracted permanent human teeth (in vitro)

In the Self-Etch adhesive + chemical ACAD protocol network, Peptide vs Calcium Phosphate showed no significant difference in 24 h bond strength (MD -0.009, 95% CI -4.076 to 4.058; Low certainty).

3 findings from 1 review

Living with HIV and undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART/HAART) vs HIV-negative individuals

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

In cross-sectional studies, children and adolescents with HIV on antiretroviral therapy had about twice the odds of dental caries versus HIV-negative peers (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.21 to 3.42; very low certainty).

3 findings from 1 review

Hall technique vs placebo

Treatment success (caries lesion arrest or restoration survival) · Children (aged 3-11 y) with cavitated caries lesions in primary teeth

At 6 months, the Hall technique had significantly higher treatment success than placebo (OR 163.59; moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Not applicable (single-group prevalence) vs Not applicable (single-group prevalence)

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

Pooled ECC prevalence in Tunisia was 38% (95% CI 24-51), significantly lower than Egypt and Sudan.

10 findings from 1 review
Show 7 more findings

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)

Self-efficacy related to oral health · school‐age children and adolescents

Theory-based educational interventions significantly improved oral health self-efficacy (SMD 1.49; low certainty), though between-study heterogeneity was very high.

1 finding from 1 review

Calcium phosphate agent (e.g., CPP-ACP, Ca/P-PILP, niobophosphate) vs Fluoride agent (e.g., NaF/SDF/KF/CaF2)

Immediate (24 h) resin-dentin bond strength (MPa) · Artificial caries-affected dentin (ACAD) in extracted permanent human teeth (in vitro)

In the Self-Etch adhesive + chemical ACAD protocol network, Calcium Phosphate vs Fluorine showed no significant difference in 24 h bond strength (MD 2.140, 95% CI -1.506 to 5.787; Moderate certainty).

2 findings from 1 review

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

Risk of fragility fractures · general population

Fragility-fracture risk overall was slightly U-shaped: RR 0.93 up to 0.9 mg/L, ~1.00 at 1.48 mg/L, 1.05 at 1.8 mg/L drinking-water fluoride vs null; ungraded.

5 findings from 1 review
  • The association of fluoride exposure with bone density and fracture risk: a dose-response meta-analysis. 2025 All outcomes
    Long-term / lifetime fluoride exposure · General population; 37 observational studies (1944-2024), predominantly North America (USA, Canada) and Northern Europe (Finland, Sweden), plus UK, Poland, Italy, Germany, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Ethiopia; exposure mainly community drinking-water fluoride · Drinking-water fluoride up to 0.9 mg/L vs null
    RR 0.93 [0.84, 1.02]
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported
  • The association of fluoride exposure with bone density and fracture risk: a dose-response meta-analysis. 2025 All outcomes
    Long-term / lifetime fluoride exposure · General population; 37 observational studies (1944-2024), predominantly North America (USA, Canada) and Northern Europe (Finland, Sweden), plus UK, Poland, Italy, Germany, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Ethiopia; exposure mainly community drinking-water fluoride · Drinking-water fluoride 1.8 mg/L vs null
    RR 1.05 [0.82, 1.35]
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported
  • The association of fluoride exposure with bone density and fracture risk: a dose-response meta-analysis. 2025 All outcomes
    Long-term / lifetime fluoride exposure · General population; 37 observational studies (1944-2024), predominantly North America (USA, Canada) and Northern Europe (Finland, Sweden), plus UK, Poland, Italy, Germany, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Ethiopia; exposure mainly community drinking-water fluoride · Sensitivity (excluding high risk-of-bias studies): 0.8-1.5 mg/L vs null
    RR 0.93 [0.72, 1.21]
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported
Show 2 more findings
  • The association of fluoride exposure with bone density and fracture risk: a dose-response meta-analysis. 2025 All outcomes
    Long-term / lifetime fluoride exposure · General population; 37 observational studies (1944-2024), predominantly North America (USA, Canada) and Northern Europe (Finland, Sweden), plus UK, Poland, Italy, Germany, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Ethiopia; exposure mainly community drinking-water fluoride · Drinking-water fluoride 1.48 mg/L vs null
    RR 1.00 [0.82, 1.21]
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported
  • The association of fluoride exposure with bone density and fracture risk: a dose-response meta-analysis. 2025 All outcomes
    Long-term / lifetime fluoride exposure · General population; 37 observational studies (1944-2024), predominantly North America (USA, Canada) and Northern Europe (Finland, Sweden), plus UK, Poland, Italy, Germany, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Ethiopia; exposure mainly community drinking-water fluoride · Sensitivity (excluding high risk-of-bias studies): 1.8 mg/L vs null
    RR 0.95 [0.70, 1.29]
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Self-assembling/remineralizing peptide (e.g., P11-4, PAA-PASP) vs Calcium-based agent

Immediate (24 h) resin-dentin bond strength (MPa) · Artificial caries-affected dentin (ACAD) in extracted permanent human teeth (in vitro)

In the Self-Etch adhesive + chemical ACAD protocol network, Peptide vs Calcium showed no significant difference in 24 h bond strength (MD 2.654, 95% CI -3.216 to 8.524; Moderate certainty).

2 findings from 1 review

Hall technique vs Atraumatic restorative treatment (ART)

Treatment success (caries lesion arrest or restoration survival) · Children (aged 3-11 y) with cavitated caries lesions in primary teeth

At 6 months, the Hall technique had significantly higher treatment success than ART (OR 10.11; moderate certainty).

3 findings from 1 review

Hall technique vs Conventional restoration

Treatment success (caries lesion arrest or restoration survival) · Children (aged 3-11 y) with cavitated caries lesions in primary teeth

At 12 to 24 months, the Hall technique had significantly higher treatment success than conventional restoration (OR 4.17; moderate certainty).

3 findings from 1 review

Electronic cigarette use vs Non-smokers

Dry mouth (xerostomia) · Humans who use e-cigarettes (adolescents to adults) assessed for dental caries

Two studies reported more frequent xerostomia (dry mouth) among e-cigarette users than non-smokers, which may raise caries risk, but results were not pooled (ungraded, narrative).

1 finding from 1 review

Country-level periodontal disease prevalence (Global Burden of Disease) vs Low vs high periodontal disease prevalence

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

OHRQoL did not differ significantly by country-level periodontal disease prevalence; no pooled estimate was reported in the text (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Country-level income (World Bank income classification) vs Higher- vs lower-income country categories

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

Community-dwelling older adults in higher-income countries had better OHRQoL than those in lower-income countries (77.9, 95% CI 70.2 to 85.6 vs 66.9, 95% CI 56.7 to 77.0); the difference by income was statistically significant (ungraded).

2 findings from 1 review