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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

1,338 questions · 2,104 findings · 136 reviews · Dental caries

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No studies found 159 · 7.6%GRADE not reported 1,657 · 78.8%Very low 138 · 6.6%Low 111 · 5.3%Moderate 36 · 1.7%High 3 · 0.1%

Less frequent tooth brushing (< twice daily) vs More frequent tooth brushing (>= twice daily)

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

More frequent tooth brushing was generally protective against caries, though findings were somewhat inconsistent across studies (narrative synthesis; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Lower family socioeconomic status / income vs Higher socioeconomic position

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

Evidence on socioeconomic status/income and caries was inconsistent: some studies linked lower income to higher caries while others found no association (narrative synthesis; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Intraglandular botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) injection vs No BoNT (placebo or pre-treatment baseline)

Development of >=1 new carious lesion (caries incidence) · Patients with drooling (sialorrhea) due to neurological disease

In one RCT, BoNT-B 2500 U was not associated with a statistically significant increase in new caries versus placebo (RR 2.4, 95% CI 0.48 to 11.80; not significant).

2 findings from 1 review

Higher JIA disease activity/severity (e.g., high JADAS/activity scores, polyarticular RF-negative subtype, active disease, anti-TNFalpha or cyclosporine medication) vs Lower JIA disease activity / inactive or milder JIA

Prevalence and severity of oral and TMJ diseases/conditions (periodontal status and dental caries) · Children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)

Some studies suggested greater JIA disease activity/severity (and certain medications) was associated with worse periodontal and caries outcomes, but small samples meant no solid conclusion could be drawn (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) vs Children and adolescents without JIA (healthy peers)

Caries in primary teeth: dmft (3 years) · Children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)

There was no significant difference in dental caries of the primary teeth (dmft) between children with JIA and healthy peers (pooled MD -1.16, 95% CI -3.02 to 0.71; 3 cross-sectional studies; very high heterogeneity I2=87.9%; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) vs Children and adolescents without JIA (healthy peers)

Dental caries in permanent teeth · Children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)

There was no significant difference in dental caries of the permanent teeth (DMFT) between children/adolescents with JIA and healthy peers (pooled MD -0.08, 95% CI -0.42 to 0.26; 6 cross-sectional studies; no heterogeneity I2=0%; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

High maternal allostatic load (chronic stress) and low socioeconomic status vs Lower maternal allostatic load

Dental caries in children · Mother-child pairs

In one cross-sectional study, higher maternal allostatic load was associated with child dental caries experience and with health-related maternal care-taking behaviours; not pooled (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Low socioeconomic status and family financial stress vs Higher socioeconomic status and lower stress

Salivary cortisol, cariogenic bacterial load and dental caries · Kindergarten-age children

In one cross-sectional study of children, low socioeconomic status, higher basal salivary cortisol and higher cariogenic bacterial counts were each independently associated with higher dental caries risk; not pooled (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

VistaProof (Durr Dental; blue fluorescence, 405 nm) vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, or enhanced visual examination)

Diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity and specificity) for detection of early enamel caries (D1 threshold) · Asymptomatic children, adolescents, or adults presenting for clinical examination (in vivo studies), or extracted teeth of children or…
1 finding from 1 review
  • Fluorescence devices for the detection of dental caries 2020 · Cochrane All outcomes
    Up to 3 months between index test and reference standard (in vivo studies)
    Analysed as a separate index test (coupled forest plot and SROC plot, Figure 24 / Figure 25; Appendix 5); no summary DOR or sensitivity/specificity point reported numerically in the text. 18 datasets, 2402 tooth sites.
    17 studies
    GRADE not reported

Machine-learning algorithms for dental caries detection vs Dental expert / visual-tactile clinical assessment (reference standard)

Negative post-test probability · Dental images or diagnostic tests for dental caries detection

The negative post-test probability was 6%; certainty was not graded.

1 finding from 1 review

Machine-learning algorithms for dental caries detection vs Dental expert / visual-tactile clinical assessment (reference standard)

Positive post-test probability · Dental images or diagnostic tests for dental caries detection

The positive post-test probability was 79%; certainty was not graded.

1 finding from 1 review

Machine-learning algorithms for dental caries detection vs Dental expert / visual-tactile clinical assessment (reference standard)

Diagnostic odds ratio · Dental images or diagnostic tests for dental caries detection

The pooled diagnostic odds ratio was 70.9 (95% CI 44.9 to 111.9) across 20 studies; certainty was not graded.

1 finding from 1 review