Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

1,127 questions · 1,590 findings · 132 reviews · Oral Health

No studies found 189 · 11.9%GRADE not reported 1,166 · 73.3%Very low 130 · 8.2%Low 69 · 4.3%Moderate 25 · 1.6%High 11 · 0.7%

Replacement of the defective restoration vs Repair of the defective restoration

Amalgam: Preference for replacement over repair - Scenario 3: secondary caries · Dentists managing a defective direct amalgam restoration (posterior occlusal Class I; standardized vignette of a 30-year-old,…

For a defective amalgam restoration with secondary caries, surveyed dentists most often preferred replacement over repair (pooled RR 6.94; p < 0.001); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

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

Wrist fractures · general population

Wrist-fracture risk declined nearly linearly with increasing fluoride: RR 1.00 at 0.01 mg/L to 0.84 at 1.5 mg/L drinking-water fluoride vs null; ungraded.

2 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 1.5 mg/L vs null
    RR 0.84 [0.43, 1.65]
    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 0.01 mg/L vs null
    RR 1.00 [0.99, 1.01]
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Genetically predicted periodontitis vs Lower genetically predicted periodontitis liability

Postmenopausal osteoporosis with pathological fracture · Postmenopausal women (European ancestry)

Genetically predicted periodontitis had no causal effect on postmenopausal osteoporosis with pathological fracture (single-variable MR, OR 1.014).

2 findings from 1 review

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

Hip Fracture · general population

Overall hip-fracture risk showed little association with drinking-water fluoride and a nearly flat dose-response curve (narrow CI); no numeric RR reported in text; ungraded.

1 finding 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 · Overall dose-response (0 to highest exposure)
    Curve indicated little association and was nearly flat, with a comparatively narrow 95% confidence band (no numeric RR reported in text)
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Genetically predicted DMFS (dental caries) vs Reference (1-SD lower genetically predicted DMFS)

Femur fracture · European-ancestry adults

Genetically predicted dental caries (DMFS) had no significant causal effect on fracture of femur (multivariable MR, OR 1.069).

2 findings from 1 review

Out-of-pocket health expenditure vs Lower vs higher out-of-pocket expenditure categories

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

Lower out-of-pocket health expenditure was associated with better OHRQoL (83.9, 95% CI 75.2 to 92.6 vs 67.5, 95% CI 58.5 to 76.5); the difference was statistically significant (ungraded).

2 findings from 1 review

Genetically predicted pulp and periapical diseases vs Without pulp and periapical diseases (lower genetic liability)

Lacunar stroke · European-ancestry adults

Genetically predicted pulp and periapical diseases were associated with modestly higher odds of lacunar stroke (OR 1.20); ungraded MR, FDR-adjusted P 0.033.

1 finding from 1 review

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

Lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) · Females aged over 50 years

In females over 50, spine BMD showed an inverted U-shaped curve with a downward trend beginning at lower fluoride concentrations than in the overall analysis; no numeric MD reported in text; ungraded.

1 finding 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 · Females >50, spine BMD dose-response
    Inverted U-shaped curve with a downward trend starting at lower fluoride concentrations than the overall analysis (no numeric MD reported in text)
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Genetically predicted DMFS (dental caries) vs Lower genetically predicted DMFS

Forearm fracture · European GWAS participants

The SVMR Weighted Median interval included the null.

3 findings from 1 review

Replacement of the defective restoration vs Repair of the defective restoration

Composite: Preference for replacement over repair - Scenario 6: superficial discoloration · Dentists managing a defective direct resin composite restoration (posterior occlusal Class I; standardized vignette of a 30-year-old,…

For a defective composite restoration with superficial discoloration, surveyed dentists most often preferred repair over replacement (pooled RR 0.28; p < 0.001); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Country-level dental caries prevalence (Global Burden of Disease) vs Low vs high dental caries prevalence

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

Lower country-level dental caries prevalence was associated with better OHRQoL (low-prevalence pooled mean 81.5, 95% CI 76.5 to 86.6, higher than high-prevalence countries); statistically significant (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Replacement of the defective restoration vs Repair of the defective restoration

Amalgam: Preference for replacement over repair - Scenario 7: non-stable (mobile) restoration · Dentists managing a defective direct amalgam restoration (posterior occlusal Class I; standardized vignette of a 30-year-old,…

For a defective amalgam restoration with non-stable (mobile) restoration, surveyed dentists most often preferred replacement over repair (pooled RR 24.22; p < 0.001); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Replacement of the defective restoration vs Repair of the defective restoration

Composite: Preference for replacement over repair - Scenario 7: non-stable (mobile) restoration · Dentists managing a defective direct resin composite restoration (posterior occlusal Class I; standardized vignette of a 30-year-old,…

For a defective composite restoration with non-stable (mobile) restoration, surveyed dentists most often preferred replacement over repair (pooled RR 12.17; p < 0.001); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Thermoelastic copper NiTi (CuNiTi) arch wire vs Conventional (stabilised) NiTi arch wire

Time to next/working arch wire · People receiving orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances (upper and/or lower full arch)

Thermoelastic copper NiTi (CuNiTi) arch wire showed no clear difference in time to next/working arch wire compared with conventional NiTi arch wire; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review