Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

1,378 questions · 2,146 findings · 145 reviews

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No studies found 167 · 7.8%GRADE not reported 1,674 · 78%Very low 148 · 6.9%Low 113 · 5.3%Moderate 40 · 1.9%High 4 · 0.2%

Primary school-based interventions (one or more of: school health policy, oral health education, healthy school environment, access to oral health services, community involvement) vs usual practice

Caries increment, tooth index D(M)FT · Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)

Among children aged 5-8 years, net increment in DMFT was not significantly reduced (SMD -0.36); no significant subgroup difference by age.

3 findings from 1 review

Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and middle-income… 2022 All outcomes
Post-intervention; follow-up varied across studies (interventions ranged from <2 years to >=2 years and longer) · Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean) · Age 5-8 years
SMD -0.36 [-0.76, 0.04]
5 studies
GRADE not reported
Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and middle-income… 2022 All outcomes
Post-intervention; follow-up varied across studies (interventions ranged from <2 years to >=2 years and longer) · Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean)
SMD -0.34 [-0.69, 0.02]
5 studies · 5492 participants
Very low
Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and middle-income… 2022 All outcomes
Post-intervention; follow-up varied across studies (interventions ranged from <2 years to >=2 years and longer) · Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean) · Age 9-12 years
SMD -0.20 [-0.44, 0.04]
1 study
GRADE not reported

Food marketing exposure or greater marketing power vs No, less, or less powerful food marketing

Dental caries · Children and adolescents (general population, aged under 20 years)

Across two studies, 50% showed any association of potential public health harm for dental caries (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Association of Food and Nonalcoholic Beverage Marketing With Children and Adolescents' Eating Behaviors and Health: A… 2022 All outcomes
Vote counting by direction of effect
Proportion 0.50 [0.09, 0.905]
2 studies
Very low

Responsive complementary feeding (RCF) / other caregivers' feeding practices vs Other models of complementary feeding (traditional/non-responsive CF)

Dental caries · Healthy, term-born, normal-birth-weight infants aged 4-24 months (breastfed and/or formula-fed) in Western industrialized countries

No eligible studies examined the influence of complementary feeding practices on later dental caries; this is an evidence gap.

1 finding from 1 review

Complementary Feeding Caregivers' Practices and Growth, Risk of Overweight/Obesity, and Other Non-Communicable… 2022 All outcomes
Later in life · Outpatient care in Western industrialized (European/Anglo-Saxon) countries
No studies on the influence of caregivers' feeding practices during complementary feeding on dental caries later in life were identified.
0 studies
No studies found

Antiretroviral therapy (any, including cART) vs No antiretroviral medication (treatment-naive)

Caries experience · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH)

ART was not associated with a significant difference in dental caries experience among CLWH (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Impact of Antiretroviral Therapy on Oral Health among Children Living with HIV: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. 2022 All outcomes
Hospitals and AIDS outpatient centres in India, Brazil, and several Asian countries
OR 0.91 [0.5, 1.65]
2 studies · 301 participants
Very low

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

Dental caries (by severity) · Children or adolescents

One study reported higher median caries severity among CLWH under 12 years; no meta-analytic estimate was pooled.

1 finding from 1 review

Oral Health Status of Children and Adolescents Living with HIV Undergoing Antiretroviral Therapy: A Systematic Review… 2022 All outcomes
Cross-sectional (case-control; single time point) · HIV pediatric/ART clinics, AIDS centers, and hospitals in Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, and West Africa (Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Senegal)
Rajonson 2017 reported significantly higher median DMFT/dmft/DMFS/dmfs among CLWH than uninfected children below 12 years; no pooled effect estimate reported.
1 study
GRADE not reported

Observed population vs Not applicable

Dental caries prevalence · Preschool children attending Al Ain pediatric dentistry department

Dental caries prevalence was 99.4%.

1 finding from 1 review

Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes
Overall
Prevalence 99.4
1 study · 176 participants
GRADE not reported

Private day care vs Public day care

Dental caries prevalence · Preschool children in Sharjah day cares

Caries prevalence was 77% in private day cares versus 22% in public day cares.

2 findings from 1 review

Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes
Private day cares
Prevalence 77
1 study · 435 participants
GRADE not reported
Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes
Public day cares
Prevalence 22
1 study · 435 participants
GRADE not reported

Higher consumption of snacks / sugar / soft drinks vs Lower consumption

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

Higher snacking and soft-drink/sugar consumption were associated with more caries in most studies, though one study found no association with sweet-consumption frequency (narrative synthesis; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes
UAE; schools (Ajman, Sharjah), nurseries (Ras Al Khaimah)
Soft drink consumption (Khadri et al.: 0.31, 95% CI 0.14-0.47) and a high extent of snacking (Hashim et al.: high vs low snack level aRR 1.46, 95% CI 1.26-1.70; snacking >=3x vs once daily aRR 1.25, 1.00-1.57) were…
Studies not reported
GRADE not reported

Observed population vs Not applicable

Dental caries prevalence · School children aged 15-17 years in Dubai schools

Dental caries prevalence was 42.4% in children aged 15-17 years.

1 finding from 1 review

Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes
Overall
Prevalence 42.4
1 study · 2063 participants
GRADE not reported

Cerebral palsy vs Healthy controls

Dental caries prevalence · Children with cerebral palsy in Dubai

Dental caries prevalence was 53% among children with cerebral palsy.

1 finding from 1 review

Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes
Overall
Prevalence 53
1 study
GRADE not reported

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

Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes
UAE; schools/nurseries
Maternal education was not associated with children's caries in the Hashim et al. studies, whereas father's educational level was negatively associated with DMFT in Khadri et al. (secondary-aged children: -0.35, 95% CI…
Studies not reported
GRADE not reported

Beta-thalassemia major vs Healthy Emirati children

Dental caries prevalence · Children with beta-thalassemia major in Dubai

Dental caries prevalence was 68.4% in children with beta-thalassemia major versus 48.7% in controls.

1 finding from 1 review

Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes
Children with beta-thalassemia major
Prevalence 68.4
1 study
GRADE not reported

Observed population vs Not applicable

Dental caries prevalence · School children aged 12-14 years in Dubai schools

Dental caries prevalence was 41.6% in children aged 12-14 years.

1 finding from 1 review

Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes
Overall
Prevalence 41.6
1 study · 2237 participants
GRADE not reported

Down syndrome vs Healthy controls

Dental caries prevalence · Children with Down syndrome in Dubai

Dental caries prevalence was 57.6% in children with Down syndrome and controls.

1 finding from 1 review

Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes
Children with Down syndrome
Prevalence 57.6
1 study
GRADE not reported

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) vs Healthy controls without IBD

DMFT/DMFS index (dental caries experience) · Patients with IBD (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis) and controls without IBD

Most included studies reported higher dental caries indices (DMF-t/DMF-s) in IBD patients (especially ulcerative colitis), but findings were inconsistent across studies and were not meta-analyzed or GRADE-rated.

1 finding from 1 review

Oral Health Status in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A Systematic Review. 2021 All outcomes
Hospital/clinic-based case-control and cross-sectional studies in 11 countries; 15 studies total (1748 participants: 1104 Crohn's disease, 534 ulcerative colitis, 110 IBD-form unspecified)
Not meta-analyzed (heterogeneity of caries indices). Abstract: "in most studies, patients with IBD were characterized by higher values of caries indices." Table 3 examples (IBD/subtype vs control): Zhang 2020 DMF-t…
Studies not reported
GRADE not reported