Dental caries in children · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
Probiotics probably make little to no difference to the number of dental caries versus control (MD -0.24 carious pieces, 95%CI -0.72 to 0.23; low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Caries arrestment at the individual (patient) level · Children and adults with active dental caries (aged 1-50; mostly preschool/school children with primary dentition)
Pooling two trials, SDF markedly increased individual-level caries arrestment versus placebo (OR 18.10; ungraded subgroup).
1 finding from 1 review
Caries arrestment at the tooth level · Children and adults without systemic diseases affecting dental health
SDF showed a higher caries-free proportion at the tooth level, but the reported difference was not statistically significant.
1 finding from 1 review
Adverse effects · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
2 findings from 1 review
1 study reported no adverse effects. 1 study reported a white discolouration of the gingiva adjacent to surfaces treated with SDF (116 surfaces) as well as redness (4 surfaces), and mild ulceration (2 surfaces). In…
2 studies · 316 participants
Very low
1 study reported 3 adverse effects in the first 48 hours. Of these, 1 effect in SDF group was possibly related to treatment (spot on corner of lip that looked like a burn), and 2 effects in placebo group were possibly…
3 studies · 983 participants
Very low
Adverse effects (tooth staining and other side effects) · Children and adults with active dental caries (aged 1-50; mostly preschool/school children with primary dentition)
SDF commonly causes black staining of arrested lesions; only mild, transient adverse events were reported, with no major adverse events (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Caries presence in primary teeth · For interventions, pregnant women and mothers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years of age
It is very uncertain whether prophylaxis (teeth cleaning) and CHX or iodine-NaF solution… changes caries presence in primary teeth compared with placebo (very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Streptococcus mutans count · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
Probiotics probably reduce Streptococcus mutans count versus control (MD -0.40 CFU/mL, 95%CI -0.57 to -0.24; moderate certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Gingival bleeding (various bleeding indices) · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
Only one trial (Borrell 2021) reported the bleeding index, showing slightly more bleeding with probiotics (MD 0.10, 95%CI 0.02 to 0.18); not pooled or GRADE-rated.
1 finding from 1 review
Child microbiological presence (mutans streptococci acquisition) · For interventions, pregnant women and mothers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years of age
1 finding from 1 review
Plaque index (PI) / oral hygiene · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
Probiotics may make little to no difference to the bacterial plaque index versus control (MD 0.21, 95%CI -0.55 to 0.96; very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Aesthetics · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
1 finding from 1 review
1 study reported that "only 19 (7%) [older adult participants] raised a complaint about the interventions at the 30-mo [month] examination, and half of them complained of black stain on the treated root surfaces." No…
1 study · 43 participants
Very low
Dental pain or sensitivity · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Mother caries (DMFT increment) · For interventions, pregnant women and mothers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years of age
Prophylaxis (teeth cleaning) and CHX or iodine-NaF solution… showed no clear difference in mother caries (DMFT increment) compared with placebo; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
Streptococcus viridans count (CFU/mL) · Children and/or adolescents (<18 years) without background systemic disease
Only one trial (Mishra 2014) reported S. viridans count, showing a higher count with probiotics (MD 0.40 CFU/mL, 95%CI 0.33 to 0.47); not pooled or GRADE-rated.
1 finding from 1 review
Mother caries (dmfs increment) · For interventions, pregnant women and mothers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years of age
Prophylaxis (teeth cleaning) and CHX or iodine-NaF solution… showed no clear difference in mother caries (dmfs increment) compared with placebo; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
White spot lesion incidence · High caries-risk patients: fixed-orthodontic-appliance patients and children with partially erupted permanent molars
Low-power CO2 laser (LLLT) is associated with a lower incidence of new white spot lesions than placebo (OR 0.21, CI 0.15 to 0.30; ungraded, 3 RCTs, considerable heterogeneity I2=71%).
1 finding from 1 review
Cariogenic bacteria (Mutans streptococci) · People undergoing orthodontic treatment (any age; 9 to 34 years in included studies)
Chlorhexidine mouthwash reduced Mutans streptococci versus placebo, but certainty is very low.
1 finding from 1 review
Plaque · People undergoing orthodontic treatment (any age; 9 to 34 years in included studies)
Herbal mouthwash reduced some plaque-related indices versus placebo, with low-certainty evidence.
1 finding from 1 review
Probing pocket depth (PPD/PD) · Orthodontic patients (any age) undergoing orthodontic treatment (mostly fixed appliances)
Chlorhexidine mouthwash may reduce pocket probing depth versus placebo in the short term (low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Remineralization / reduction in lesion severity (change in QLF, laser fluorescence, or lesion area) · Patients with white spot lesions / early caries lesions (WSLs/ECLs), including orthodontic and non-orthodontic lesions, active caries…
Self-assembling peptide P11-4 significantly improved remineralization versus control (SMD -0.56, 95% CI -0.96 to -0.15); certainty of evidence not assessed (no GRADE).
1 finding from 1 review