What do systematic reviews say?

Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) pulpotomy dressing vs Calcium-enriched mixture (CEM)

A single RCT found no difference in pulpotomy success between MTA and calcium-enriched mixture (both 100% at 6 and 12 months; not pooled; ungraded).

• Materials for pulpotomy in immature permanent teeth: a systematic review and meta-analysis. 2019 All outcomes

  6 and 12 months · Pediatric dental clinic (Iran)
  Single RCT (Nosrat 2012, 118 roots): 100% clinical and radiographic success in both MTA and CEM at 6 and 12 months (MTA 53/53 then 54/54 roots; CEM 55/55 then 57/57 roots); no statistical difference between groups at…
  1 study · 118 participants
  GRADE not reported

Triple antibiotic paste (TAP) vs Abscess remedy (AR)

A single RCT found higher pulpotomy success with triple antibiotic paste than abscess remedy (100% vs 80%; statistically significant, P<0.05; not pooled; ungraded).

• Materials for pulpotomy in immature permanent teeth: a systematic review and meta-analysis. 2019 All outcomes

  3 to 24 months · Pediatric dental clinic (India)
  Single RCT (Eppa 2018, 3-arm; 20 TAP and 20 AR teeth): TAP 100% (20/20) vs abscess remedy 80% (16/20) clinical and radiographic success; difference statistically significant at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months (P<0.05);…
  1 study · 40 participants
  GRADE not reported

Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) pulpotomy dressing vs Abscess remedy (AR)

A single RCT found higher pulpotomy success with MTA than abscess remedy (100% vs 80%; statistically significant, P<0.05; not pooled; ungraded).

• Materials for pulpotomy in immature permanent teeth: a systematic review and meta-analysis. 2019 All outcomes

  3 to 24 months · Pediatric dental clinic (India)
  Single RCT (Eppa 2018, 3-arm; 20 MTA and 20 AR teeth): MTA 100% (20/20) vs abscess remedy 80% (16/20) clinical and radiographic success; the 4 abscess-remedy failures occurred at 3 months; difference statistically…
  1 study · 40 participants
  GRADE not reported

Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) pulpotomy dressing vs Triple antibiotic paste (TAP)

A single 3-arm RCT found no difference in pulpotomy success between MTA and triple antibiotic paste (both 100%; not pooled; ungraded).

• Materials for pulpotomy in immature permanent teeth: a systematic review and meta-analysis. 2019 All outcomes

  1 to 24 months · Pediatric dental clinic (India)
  Single RCT (Eppa 2018, 3-arm; 20 MTA and 20 TAP teeth): 100% clinical and radiographic success in both MTA and TAP at all follow-ups (1-24 months); no difference between groups; not pooled
  1 study · 40 participants
  GRADE not reported

Fluoride toothpaste containing 10% xylitol vs Fluoride toothpaste alone

• Xylitol‐containing products for preventing dental caries in children and adults 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  2.5 to 3 years
  Adverse effects: both studies reported that there were no adverse effects in either the xylitol or control group.
  2 studies · 4216 participants
  GRADE not reported

Learning disability (CLD) vs No learning disability (CNLD)

The care index (met dental care need) for permanent teeth could not be meta-analyzed because no study reported variance; it was lower or equal in children with learning disabilities in 5 of 8 studies (certainty not graded).

• Dental caries experience, care index and restorative index in children with learning disabilities and children without… 2019 All outcomes

  Community and clinical settings (specialist paediatric dental clinics to school classrooms); 25 studies across 18 countries
  Mean care index CLD 0.12 (SD 0.12) vs CNLD 0.18 (SD 0.27) for permanent teeth; CI in CLD was less than or equal to CNLD in 5 of 8 studies. Not meta-analyzed (no variance data reported in any study).
  8 studies
  GRADE not reported

Learning disability (CLD) vs No learning disability (CNLD)

The restorative index for permanent teeth could not be meta-analyzed (no variance data); it was lower or equal in children with learning disabilities in 4 of 9 studies, and the pattern suggested more extraction- than restoration-based care in CLD (certainty not graded).

• Dental caries experience, care index and restorative index in children with learning disabilities and children without… 2019 All outcomes

  Community and clinical settings (specialist paediatric dental clinics to school classrooms); 25 studies across 18 countries
  Mean restorative index CLD 0.15 (SD 0.14) vs CNLD 0.28 (SD 0.33) for permanent teeth; RI in CLD was less than or equal to CNLD in 4 of 9 studies. Not meta-analyzed (no variance data). In CLD the RI tended to exceed the…
  9 studies
  GRADE not reported

Micro-invasive treatment (proximal sealing or resin infiltration): resin sealant, glass ionomer sealant, polyurethane/adhesive patch, or resin infiltration vs Non-invasive / control treatment

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Micro‐invasive interventions for managing proximal dental decay in primary and permanent teeth 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes
  None of the studies reported on participant or operator perception
  0 studies
  No studies found

Micro-invasive treatment (proximal sealing or resin infiltration): resin sealant, glass ionomer sealant, polyurethane/adhesive patch, or resin infiltration vs Non-invasive / control treatment

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Micro‐invasive interventions for managing proximal dental decay in primary and permanent teeth 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes
  None of the studies reported on costs for micro-invasive treatment or non-invasive control
  0 studies
  No studies found

Micro-invasive treatment (proximal sealing or resin infiltration): resin sealant, glass ionomer sealant, polyurethane/adhesive patch, or resin infiltration vs Non-invasive / control treatment

• Micro‐invasive interventions for managing proximal dental decay in primary and permanent teeth 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  1 to 3 years
  The four studies that measured adverse events reported no adverse events after micro-invasive treatment (no events in either arm)
  4 studies
  GRADE not reported

Micro-invasive treatment (proximal sealing or resin infiltration): resin sealant, glass ionomer sealant, polyurethane/adhesive patch, or resin infiltration vs Non-invasive / control treatment

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Micro‐invasive interventions for managing proximal dental decay in primary and permanent teeth 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No studies reported on caries measured as change in decayed, missing and filled (DMF/dmf) figures at surface, tooth or whole mouth level
  0 studies
  No studies found

Micro-invasive treatment (proximal sealing or resin infiltration) vs Conventional invasive treatment (restoration / drill and fill)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Micro‐invasive interventions for managing proximal dental decay in primary and permanent teeth 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No studies compared micro-invasive treatments with invasive treatment (fillings)
  0 studies
  No studies found

Micro-invasive treatment (proximal sealing or resin infiltration): resin sealant, glass ionomer sealant, polyurethane/adhesive patch, or resin infiltration vs Non-invasive / control treatment

• Micro‐invasive interventions for managing proximal dental decay in primary and permanent teeth 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  3 years
  One study (Alkilzy 2011, sealant patch) reported material deficiency: 10% total and 23% partial loss of proximal sealants after three years; 53% maintained perfect margins and none had open margins. No studies reported…
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Intervention not reported

The pooled mean dmft (primary dentition) in East Africa was 2.237 (95% CI 1.293 to 3.181); certainty not graded.

• Prevalence of Dental Caries and Associated Factors in East Africa, 2000-2020: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. 2021 All outcomes

  Community- and school-based populations, East Africa
  MEAN 2.237 [1.293, 3.181]
  11 studies
  GRADE not reported

1450 ppm F toothpaste vs 440 ppm F toothpaste

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Fluoride toothpastes of different concentrations for preventing dental caries 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Adverse effects of toothpaste: no studies reported this outcome.
  0 studies
  No studies found

1450 ppm F toothpaste vs 250 ppm F toothpaste

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Fluoride toothpastes of different concentrations for preventing dental caries 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Adverse effects of toothpaste: no studies reported this outcome.
  0 studies
  No studies found

1055 to 1100 ppm F toothpaste vs 500 to 550 ppm F toothpaste

• Fluoride toothpastes of different concentrations for preventing dental caries 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  12 months
  Adverse effects of toothpaste: not estimable. "There were no reports on adverse effects, but some children complained about the taste of the dentifrice" (Cardoso 2014); 195 participants (1 RCT); low-certainty.
  1 study · 195 participants
  Low

Fluoride toothpaste vs Placebo (non-fluoride) toothpaste or fluoride toothpaste of a different concentration

• Fluoride toothpastes of different concentrations for preventing dental caries 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Closest to 36 months
  16 studies assessed possible side effects, principally oral (soft tissue) pathologies and tooth staining. 6 studies reported no untoward events; 6 reported greater staining in the stannous fluoride group; 1 reported no…
  16 studies
  GRADE not reported

1500 ppm F toothpaste vs Non-fluoride (0 ppm F) placebo toothpaste

• Fluoride toothpastes of different concentrations for preventing dental caries 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 months
  Adverse effects of toothpaste: not estimable; 0 events reported (Fan 2008); 998 participants (1 RCT); low-certainty.
  1 study · 998 participants
  Low

Resin composite restorations containing antibacterial agents vs Non-antibacterial containing composite restorations

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Antibacterial agents in composite restorations for the prevention of dental caries 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No studies were included in this review, as we were unable to find any trials directly comparing antibacterial containing composites to other active interventions or controls.
  0 studies
  No studies found