Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

828 questions · 1,007 findings · 63 reviews · All outcomes

No studies found 110 · 10.9%GRADE not reported 709 · 70.4%Very low 84 · 8.3%Low 70 · 7%Moderate 33 · 3.3%High 1 · 0.1%

Slum / urban-disadvantaged setting vs Non-slum urban / general-urban / national population

Caries experience (mean DMFT) · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs

Mean DMFT ranges from 0.26 to 16.6 across LMIC urban/slum populations; ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Slum / urban-disadvantaged setting vs Non-slum urban / general-urban / national population

Dental trauma prevalence · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs

Dental trauma appears more common in urban and disadvantaged settings; ungraded, few studies.

1 finding from 1 review

Slum / urban-disadvantaged setting vs Non-slum urban / general-urban / national population

Use of toothbrush and toothpaste for mouth cleaning · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs

Toothbrush/paste is the commonest cleaning method but is used less in slum/disadvantaged/rural groups than urban/non-slum groups; ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Slum / urban-disadvantaged setting vs Non-slum urban / general-urban / national population

Pattern of dental service utilisation and barriers · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs

Dental service use is low, episodic and pain-driven, with widespread self-care and cost/funding barriers; ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Slum / urban-disadvantaged setting vs Non-slum urban / general-urban / national population

Frequency of mouth cleaning · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs

Twice-daily cleaning (recommended) is uncommon; most clean once, in the morning; ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Slum / urban-disadvantaged setting vs Non-slum urban / general-urban / national population

Oral disease burden, slum vs non-slum urban comparison · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs

Where compared, oral disease burden is generally higher in slums than non-slum urban/national populations (5 studies; 1 found no difference); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Slum / urban-disadvantaged setting vs Non-slum urban / general-urban / national population

Dental caries prevalence · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs

Dental caries prevalence in LMIC urban/slum populations ranges widely (13%-76%); not GRADE-rated (narrative synthesis).

1 finding from 1 review

Slum / urban-disadvantaged setting vs Non-slum urban / general-urban / national population

Self-perceived (self-rated) oral health status · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs

Most participants perceive their oral health as satisfactory (one study 39%), more so among younger, male, higher-SES and employed people; ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Slum / urban-disadvantaged setting vs Non-slum urban / general-urban / national population

Use of alternative/indigenous mouth-cleaning implements · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs

Indigenous/alternative cleaning tools and home remedies are widely used, more so in rural/slum groups; ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Cariogram multivariable caries-risk model (including modified/reduced-predictor versions) vs Alternative prediction model(s) within the same study, or no formal comparator (models compared descriptively; no between-model statistical test)

Predictive performance of the Cariogram for caries increment (positive likelihood ratio, LR+) · Children/adolescents (coronal caries) and older adults (root caries); populations from areas with varying caries risk

Modified Cariogram models showed modest positive likelihood ratios (LR+ ~1.1-3.8) for predicting caries increment, generally below the useful threshold; no pooled estimate; ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review
  • Multivariable prediction models of caries increment: a systematic review and critical appraisal. 2023 All outcomes
    Follow-up >=1 year (included studies 1-5 years) · Oral health care; children/adolescents and older adults; multiple countries · Model validation studies
    Six validation studies (5 coronal, 1 root) evaluated modified Cariogram models (not the original model per se). Review-stated LR+ range 1.1-3.8 (with one exception). LR+ was not substantially changed by excluding the…
    6 studies
    GRADE not reported

Cariogram multivariable caries-risk model (including modified/reduced-predictor versions) vs Alternative prediction model(s) within the same study, or no formal comparator (models compared descriptively; no between-model statistical test)

Predictive performance of the Cariogram for caries increment (negative likelihood ratio, LR-) · Children/adolescents (coronal caries) and older adults (root caries); populations from areas with varying caries risk

Modified Cariogram models showed negative likelihood ratios of about 0.5-0.61, above the useful rule-out threshold; no pooled estimate; ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review
  • Multivariable prediction models of caries increment: a systematic review and critical appraisal. 2023 All outcomes
    Follow-up >=1 year (included studies 1-5 years) · Oral health care; children/adolescents and older adults; multiple countries · Model validation studies
    Review-stated LR- range 0.5-0.61 across the Cariogram validation models (with one exception). Model performance was largely unaffected by removing the predictors mutans streptococci in saliva, saliva secretion and…
    6 studies
    GRADE not reported

Periodontal disease assessed by loss of attachment (LOA / clinical attachment loss) vs Individuals without periodontal disease (by LOA)

Oral health-related quality of life · Indian adults and elderly (general, police, teachers, institutionalised)

No difference in OHRQoL was seen between groups for periodontal disease by LOA on OHIP-14/OIDP (pooled SMD -0.04, CI includes 0); ungraded.

3 findings from 1 review

Prosthetic need vs Individuals without prosthetic need

Oral health-related quality of life · Indian elderly and general-population adults

Prosthetic need was significantly associated with poorer OHRQoL in both included studies (moderate certainty).

3 findings from 1 review

Atraumatic restorative treatment with GIC vs Conventional restoration

Restoration failure · Children (3-13 years) with dentine caries in primary teeth, no pulpal involvement

ART with GIC was reported to increase the odds of restoration failure versus conventional restoration (OR 1.60; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Atraumatic restorative treatment with GIC vs Conventional treatment

Pain during the procedure (primary analysis) · Children (3-13 years) with dentine caries in primary teeth, no pulpal involvement

The reported estimate for procedural pain with ART versus conventional treatment was inconclusive (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Systemic sclerosis (SSc / scleroderma) vs SSc-free individuals (controls)

Probing pocket depth · Adults (general and hospital populations assessed in case-control studies)

Probing depth is significantly increased in systemic sclerosis patients (SMD 3.10) with very high heterogeneity; certainty ungraded.

3 findings from 1 review

Non-selective carious tissue removal and conventional restoration (CR) vs Selective carious tissue removal (selective excavation, SE)

Failure of therapy · Children and/or adults with permanent or primary teeth, vital (sensitive) pulps, and cavitated or dentine carious lesions conventionally…

It is very uncertain whether non-selective carious tissue removal and conventional restoration (CR) changes failure of therapy compared with selective carious tissue removal (selective excavation, SE) (very low certainty).

3 findings from 1 review

Systemic sclerosis (SSc / scleroderma) vs SSc-free individuals (controls)

Sites with probing depth >= 4 mm · Adults (general and hospital populations assessed in case-control studies)

Sites with probing depth >= 4 mm are significantly more frequent in SSc patients (SMD 2.07); certainty ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Intervention not reported

Dental caries prevalence · General population (children and adults) in East Africa

Caries prevalence in permanent dentition (>=12 years) was 50.2% (95% CI 38.4 to 62.1); certainty not graded.

1 finding from 1 review