evidencegaps
Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

Refine by population, intervention, comparison or outcome
More filters
Evidence found and GRADE certainty

1,052 questions · 1,797 findings · 134 reviews

Sort:Best matchNewestHighest certaintyDownload CSV
No studies found 10 · 0.6%GRADE not reported 1,630 · 90.7%Very low 95 · 5.3%Low 23 · 1.3%Moderate 22 · 1.2%High 17 · 0.9%

No additional acid etching (self-etch adhesive alone) after Er,Cr:YSGG preparation vs Prior acid etching before self-etch adhesive after Er,Cr:YSGG preparation

Incidence of microleakage · Er,Cr:YSGG laser-prepared cavities restored with self-etch adhesive systems (in vitro)

At the dentin margin, prior acid etching with self-etch adhesives significantly reduced microleakage (RR 2.44, 95% CI 1.38-4.34; ungraded).

3 findings from 1 review

Prenatal vitamin D deficiency (maternal 25(OH)D measured at gestational weeks 24 to 38) vs Adequate prenatal vitamin D (sufficient maternal 25(OH)D)

Dental caries in children · Infants and children (aged about 2 to 8 years) whose mothers' vitamin D status was assessed during pregnancy

For prenatal vitamin D measured across gestational weeks 24-38, the OR of dental caries was 1.30 (no CI reported); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

No additional acid etching (etch-and-rinse adhesive alone) after Er,Cr:YSGG preparation vs Prior acid etching before etch-and-rinse adhesive after Er,Cr:YSGG preparation

Incidence of microleakage · Er,Cr:YSGG laser-prepared cavities restored with etch-and-rinse adhesive systems (in vitro)

Prior acid etching with etch-and-rinse adhesives did not significantly change microleakage after Er,Cr:YSGG preparation (RR 1.18, 95% CI 0.63-2.22; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Dental caries assessment (WHO/clinical diagnostic criteria; caries = DMFT>0) vs None (descriptive prevalence meta-analysis)

Dental caries prevalence · General Pakistani population (all ages and both sexes; predominantly children and adolescents)

In permanent dentition, the pooled prevalence of dental caries was 57.2% (95% CI 26.3 to 85.3); ungraded.

10 findings from 1 review
Show 7 more findings

Presence of dental plaque vs Absence of dental plaque

Dental caries · Individuals in Ethiopia assessed for dental caries

The presence of dental plaque was not significantly associated with dental caries (OR 5.14, 95% CI 0.67 to 39.39); certainty not graded.

1 finding from 1 review

Dental caries vs Caries-free status

Prevalence (detection frequency) of S. mutans in plaque · Systemically healthy individuals (children and adults, aged 40 months to 50 years) assessed for dental caries

S. mutans prevalence in plaque is significantly higher in caries-active than caries-free individuals (pooled OR 2.58, 95% CI 1.65 to 4.02; I2=16%); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Prenatal passive tobacco exposure (maternal smoking during pregnancy / in the womb) vs No passive tobacco exposure (non-exposed children)

Dental caries in permanent teeth · Children and adolescents with permanent dentition

No eligible studies examined prenatal tobacco exposure and caries in permanent dentition.

1 finding from 1 review

Prenatal passive tobacco exposure (maternal smoking during pregnancy / in the womb) vs No passive tobacco exposure (non-exposed children)

Caries presence in primary teeth · Young children with primary (deciduous) dentition (aged 1 to 6 years at study start)

Prenatal (in-womb) tobacco exposure is associated with higher odds of caries in primary dentition (pooled OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.41 to 1.52; 4 studies; no heterogeneity); certainty not graded.

1 finding from 1 review

Passive tobacco exposure (prenatal maternal smoking or postnatal secondhand/household smoke) vs No passive tobacco exposure (non-exposed children)

Dental caries · Children and adolescents (general population, aged under 20 years)

In children and adolescents, passive tobacco exposure (prenatal or postnatal) is associated with higher odds of dental caries (pooled OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.39 to 1.68; 21 studies), though heterogeneity was high (I2=86.5%); certainty of evidence not graded.

1 finding from 1 review

Strategies to integrate oral health into primary care (e.g., training/education of non-dental primary care professionals, policy/financing and health-insurance changes, colocation of dental and medical services, interprofessional and community-health-worker collaboration, teledentistry, integrated oral health assessment tools, school-based activities) vs No integration / usual care (or pre-integration baseline; many included studies uncontrolled)

Access to oral healthcare (referral pathways, documentation processes, operating efficiencies, staffing, visits for oral health issues, uptake of fluoride varnish/other preventive treatment, and visits to an oral health professional) · People of all ages and abilities served through primary care and related settings (children, pregnant women, older adults in…

Most strategies to integrate oral health into primary care were associated with improved access to oral healthcare (19 studies, narrative synthesis; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review
  • Strategies to integrate oral health into primary care: a systematic review. 2023 All outcomes
    Primary care, community, school, and aged-care/residential/nursing-home settings
    Access to oral healthcare was the primary outcome most studied (n=19). Most studies reported results favouring the integration strategy, including improvements in referral pathways, documentation processes, operating…
    19 studies
    GRADE not reported

Dental erosion assessment vs None (descriptive prevalence review; subgroup analyses by urban/rural status, country and year)

Dental erosion prevalence · Five-year-old preschool children in Sharjah

One study found a high prevalence of dental erosion (58.8%) among 5-year-olds in Sharjah, associated with non-Emirati nationality, caries experience and sugary/carbonated beverage consumption (narrative synthesis; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Dental caries assessment (WHO/clinical diagnostic criteria; caries = DMFT>0) vs None (descriptive prevalence review; subgroup analyses by urban/rural status, country and year)

Dental caries prevalence · Healthy children and adolescents in the United Arab Emirates

Dental caries is highly prevalent among children and adolescents in the UAE, ranging from 22% to 99.4% across cross-sectional studies (narrative synthesis; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Laser enamel preparation vs Enameloplasty

Any planned outcome (sealant retention, caries, etc.) · Patients with premolars/molars requiring pit-and-fissure sealants

No eligible studies compared laser preparation with enameloplasty for fissure sealant placement (evidence gap).

1 finding from 1 review

Laser enamel preparation vs Air abrasion

Any planned outcome (sealant retention, caries, etc.) · Patients with premolars/molars requiring pit-and-fissure sealants

No eligible studies compared laser preparation with air abrasion for fissure sealant placement (evidence gap).

1 finding from 1 review

Community and caregiver oral health education plus media campaign vs Pre-intervention baseline (and sites that discontinued the prevention program)

Reduction in prevalence of baby bottle tooth decay (BBTD) · Alaska Native and American Indian Head Start children

Community and caregiver oral health education was associated with a significant ~25% overall reduction in baby bottle tooth decay among Head Start children (certainty not graded).

1 finding from 1 review

Maternal smoking during pregnancy vs No maternal smoking during pregnancy

Dental caries · children

Maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with higher odds of dental caries in children (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.55 to 2.05; ungraded).

14 findings from 2 reviews · compare the 2 reviews
Show 11 more findings

Maternal smoking during pregnancy vs No maternal smoking during pregnancy

Dental caries in children · Children in cross-sectional studies

The cross-sectional association remained statistically significant after excluding Julihn et al. 2018.

7 findings from 1 review
Show 4 more findings