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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

2,066 questions · 3,346 findings · 178 reviews · Dental caries

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No studies found 48 · 1.4%GRADE not reported 2,789 · 83.4%Very low 208 · 6.2%Low 129 · 3.9%Moderate 136 · 4.1%High 36 · 1.1%

Periodontitis vs No periodontitis (periodontal health or gingivitis)

Lacunar stroke · adults

Individuals with periodontitis had about five times higher odds of lacunar stroke than those without periodontitis (pooled OR 5.16); ungraded cross-sectional evidence, with the caution that the three studies came from one research team.

1 finding from 1 review

Machine-learning algorithms for dental caries detection vs Dental expert / visual-tactile clinical assessment (reference standard)

Diagnostic odds ratio · Dental images or diagnostic tests for dental caries detection

The pooled diagnostic odds ratio was 70.9 (95% CI 44.9 to 111.9) across 20 studies; certainty was not graded.

1 finding from 1 review

Anorexia nervosa (as exposure; diagnosed by DSM-III/III-R/IV/V) vs Healthy controls

Plaque · Patients with anorexia nervosa aged >=12 years (mean age ~18.4; entirely female in reported data), general community-dwelling population

Anorexia nervosa patients tended to have higher plaque accumulation than healthy controls (significant in 2 of 3 studies), but results were not pooled or graded (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Caries experience vs Adolescents without dental caries

Negative oral-health impact on daily performance (OIDP or Child-OIDP) · Adolescents (10-19 years)

For experience (history) of dental caries, adolescents had a significantly worse oral-health impact: PR 1.72 (95% CI 1.23 to 2.43) from 6 studies (I2=97%); ungraded, and not statistically different from the presence subgroup (p=0.19).

1 finding from 1 review
  • Impact of dental caries on the quality of life of adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. 2025 All outcomes
    Cross-sectional (concurrent exposure and outcome); oral impacts recalled over the prior 6 months · School-based (17/20 studies), plus household and secondary-data surveys; low-, middle- and high-income countries (Brazil, Thailand, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Iran, Serbia, Nepal, India, South Africa, China) · Caries-definition subgroup: experience of dental caries
    PR 1.72 [1.23, 2.43]
    6 studies
    GRADE not reported

Microinvasive techniques (mostly resin infiltration; incl. resin sealant) vs Non-invasive measures (fluoride varnish/toothpaste, flossing, oral hygiene instruction, sham/standard of care)

Radiographic proximal caries lesion progression · Children and adults with non-cavitated proximal caries lesions in permanent teeth (ages 11-45)

In permanent teeth (7 trials), microinvasive techniques reduced radiographic proximal caries progression versus non-invasive measures (OR 0.18; ungraded subgroup).

1 finding from 1 review

High dental-caries prevalence vs Not applicable

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

The review reported higher OHRQoL in the low than high dental-caries-prevalence category.

1 finding from 1 review

Fluoride mouthrinse (0.05-0.32% sodium fluoride or amine fluoride) added to daily fluoride toothpaste vs Control: fluoride toothpaste alone, placebo mouthrinse + toothpaste, or non-fluoride (chlorhexidine) mouthrinse + toothpaste

Incidence of initial enamel caries / white spot lesions adjacent to bracket base (subject level, dichotomized) · Orthodontic patients (any age) undergoing orthodontic treatment (mostly fixed appliances)

Adding a fluoride mouthrinse to daily fluoride toothpaste produced a small reduction in the incidence of initial caries/white spot lesions adjacent to brackets (pooled risk difference -0.07, 95% CI -0.14 to -0.01; 5 studies, 491 subjects), but the authors judged the overall evidence inconclusive (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Microinvasive technique (proximal sealing) vs no intervention

Radiographic proximal caries lesion progression · Children with lesions in both primary and permanent teeth (ages 8-10)

In one trial including both primary and permanent teeth, proximal sealing reduced radiographic caries progression versus no intervention (OR 0.16; ungraded subgroup).

1 finding from 1 review

Fluoride mouthrinse (0.05-0.32% sodium fluoride or amine fluoride) added to daily fluoride toothpaste vs Control: fluoride toothpaste alone, placebo mouthrinse + toothpaste, or non-fluoride (chlorhexidine) mouthrinse + toothpaste

Side effects or other adverse events · Orthodontic patients (any age) undergoing orthodontic treatment (mostly fixed appliances)

No adverse effects were reported in any of the seven included studies (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Mesoporous silica (SiO2) vs HEMA/EGDMA-based desensitizer

Immediate (24 h) resin-dentin bond strength (MPa) · Artificial caries-affected dentin (ACAD) in extracted permanent human teeth (in vitro)

In the Self-Etch adhesive + chemical ACAD protocol network, Silica vs HEMA showed no significant difference in 24 h bond strength (MD -1.059, 95% CI -9.024 to 6.906; Moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review