Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

153 questions · 212 findings · 18 reviews · Oral and maxillofacial surgery

No studies found 25 · 11.8%GRADE not reported 151 · 71.2%Very low 20 · 9.4%Low 10 · 4.7%Moderate 2 · 0.9%High 4 · 1.9%

Genetically predicted periodontitis vs Lower genetically predicted periodontitis liability

Osteoporosis with pathological fracture · European GWAS participants

The SVMR Weighted Median interval included the null.

3 findings from 1 review

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

Fracture · general population

Non-linear positive dose-response: little change in overall fracture risk below ~1.5 mg/L drinking-water fluoride, with risk increasing above that threshold (RR 1.06, 1.19, 1.35 at 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 mg/L vs null); ungraded (4 studies).

4 findings from 1 review
Show 1 more finding

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

Osteoporosis with pathological fracture · European-ancestry adults

In multivariable MR, genetically predicted dental caries (DMFS) had no significant causal effect on osteoporosis with pathological fracture (OR 1.279, not significant).

2 findings from 1 review

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

Postmenopausal osteoporosis with pathological fracture · European GWAS participants

The SVMR Maximum Likelihood interval included the null.

3 findings from 1 review

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

Osteoporosis · European-ancestry adults

In multivariable MR (adjusted for periodontitis), higher genetically predicted dental caries (DMFS) causally increased osteoporosis risk (OR 1.165, moderate evidence).

2 findings from 1 review

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

Bone mineral density in forearm · European-ancestry adults

Genetically predicted dental caries (DMFS) had no causal effect on forearm BMD.

1 finding from 1 review

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

Risk of femoral fractures · general population

Femoral-fracture risk was mildly U-shaped: RR 0.86 at 0.5 mg/L rising to 1.06 at 1.8 mg/L drinking-water fluoride vs null; risk mostly below null across the range; 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 1.8 mg/L vs null
    RR 1.06 [0.67, 1.69]
    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 0.5 mg/L vs null
    RR 0.86 [0.71, 1.05]
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

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

Risk of fragility fractures · Male participants

In males (7 studies), fragility-fracture risk generally decreased with increasing fluoride: RR 0.83 (95% CI 0.72-0.97) at 0.57 mg/L to 0.87 (0.48-1.58) at 1.8 mg/L 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 · Males: drinking-water fluoride 1.8 mg/L vs null
    RR 0.87 [0.48, 1.58]
    7 studies
    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 · Males: drinking-water fluoride 0.57 mg/L vs null
    RR 0.83 [0.72, 0.97]
    7 studies
    GRADE not reported

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

Risk of fragility fractures · general population

Fragility-fracture risk overall was slightly U-shaped: RR 0.93 up to 0.9 mg/L, ~1.00 at 1.48 mg/L, 1.05 at 1.8 mg/L drinking-water fluoride vs null; ungraded.

5 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 up to 0.9 mg/L vs null
    RR 0.93 [0.84, 1.02]
    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 1.8 mg/L vs null
    RR 1.05 [0.82, 1.35]
    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 · Sensitivity (excluding high risk-of-bias studies): 0.8-1.5 mg/L vs null
    RR 0.93 [0.72, 1.21]
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported
Show 2 more findings
  • 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 1.48 mg/L vs null
    RR 1.00 [0.82, 1.21]
    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 · Sensitivity (excluding high risk-of-bias studies): 1.8 mg/L vs null
    RR 0.95 [0.70, 1.29]
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Genetically predicted periodontitis vs Lower genetically predicted periodontitis liability

Forearm fracture · European GWAS participants

The SVMR Weighted Median interval included the null.

3 findings from 1 review

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

Osteoporosis with pathological fracture · European GWAS participants

The SVMR MR-Egger interval included the null.

3 findings from 1 review

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

Lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) · general population

Spine BMD showed an inverted U-shaped association with fluoride (peak ~0.6 mg/L); excluding high risk-of-bias studies gave small positive MDs (e.g., 0.05 g/cm2, 95% CI 0.01-0.10, up to 2.27 mg/L); ungraded.

4 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 · Sensitivity (excluding high risk-of-bias studies): 1.27 to 2.27 mg/L vs null
    MD 0.05 [0.01, 0.10]
    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 · Sensitivity (excluding high risk-of-bias studies): 0.60 mg/L vs null
    MD 0.06 [-0.02, 0.13]
    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 · Both sexes, main dose-response
    Inverted U-shaped association in both males and females, highest value around 0.6 mg/L (no numeric MD reported in text for main analysis)
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported
Show 1 more finding
  • 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 · Sensitivity (excluding high risk-of-bias studies): above 2.27 mg/L vs null
    MD 0.04 [-0.21, 0.30]
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

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

Lumbar spine and pelvis fracture · European-ancestry adults

Genetically predicted dental caries (DMFS) had no significant causal effect on fracture of lumbar spine and pelvis (multivariable MR, OR 0.968).

2 findings from 1 review

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

Forearm fracture · European-ancestry adults

Genetically predicted dental caries (DMFS) had no significant causal effect on fracture of forearm (multivariable MR, OR 0.973).

2 findings from 1 review

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

Risk of fragility fractures · Females (all ages)

In females, fragility-fracture risk was U-shaped: lowest ~0.4 mg/L, rising above 0.9 mg/L (RR 0.84 at 0.34, 1.00 at 0.9, 1.13 at 1.1 mg/L vs null); ungraded.

3 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 · Females: drinking-water fluoride 1.1 mg/L vs null
    RR 1.13 [0.93, 1.37]
    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 · Females: drinking-water fluoride 0.34 mg/L vs null
    RR 0.84 [0.67, 1.07]
    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 · Females: drinking-water fluoride 0.9 mg/L vs null
    RR 1.00 [0.79, 1.27]
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

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

Femur fracture · European GWAS participants

The SVMR MR-Egger interval included the null.

3 findings from 1 review

Genetically predicted periodontitis vs Lower genetically predicted periodontitis liability

Osteoporosis with pathological fracture · European-ancestry adults

Genetically predicted periodontitis had no causal effect on osteoporosis with pathological fracture (single-variable MR, OR 1.003).

2 findings from 1 review

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

Lumbar spine and pelvis fracture · European GWAS participants

The SVMR Weighted Median interval included the null.

3 findings from 1 review

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

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

In multivariable MR (adjusted for periodontitis), genetically predicted dental caries (DMFS) causally increased postmenopausal osteoporosis with pathological fracture (OR 1.422, moderate evidence).

2 findings from 1 review