evidencegaps
Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

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

2,297 questions · 3,638 findings · 215 reviews · Oral Health

Sort:Best matchNewestHighest certaintyDownload CSV
No studies found 98 · 2.7%GRADE not reported 2,946 · 81%Very low 263 · 7.2%Low 158 · 4.3%Moderate 137 · 3.8%High 36 · 1%

Flavonoids (e.g., quercetin, proanthocyanidin) 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, Flavonoids vs HEMA showed no significant difference in 24 h bond strength (MD 2.705, 95% CI -5.654 to 11.063; Moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

School-based supervised toothbrushing (STB) vs no intervention

Dental caries increment, DMFT/dmft (whole-tooth level) · Children in school or kindergarten settings (aged 3-14 years)

School-based supervised toothbrushing has no statistically significant effect on whole-tooth caries (DMFT/dmft SMD 0.05, 95% CI -0.27 to 0.37; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

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

Dental caries vs Caries-free status

Oral microbial community composition and diversity (other caries-associated taxa; alpha- and beta-diversity) · Systemically healthy individuals (children and adults, aged 40 months to 50 years) assessed for dental caries

No oral microbial taxon other than S. mutans was consistently associated with caries; alpha-diversity mostly did not differ between caries-active and caries-free groups and beta-diversity findings were mixed (ungraded, narrative).

1 finding from 1 review
  • Streptococcus mutans and Caries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. 2025 All outcomes
    Cross-sectional · Clinical oral-microbiome studies; saliva and/or supragingival plaque samples; 7 countries; DNA/RNA-based sequencing or microarray
    Narrative synthesis (no pooled estimate): no bacterial genus or species other than S. mutans was consistently (reported in more than 2 studies) associated with caries-active status (Table 3; 15 of 19 studies for…
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Partial pulpotomy with immediate (same-visit) permanent restoration vs No comparator

Overall success (composite of clinical and radiographic success) · Adults aged 18 years or older with mature permanent teeth and carious pulp exposure

Immediate permanent restoration was associated with a pooled success rate of 89.9%.

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

Late tooth brushing initiation (>=12 months, or >=2 years in some studies) vs Early tooth brushing initiation (<12 months, or <2 years)

Early childhood caries (ECC) · Healthy children under 6 years of age (6 months to 6 years); preschool children

In the primary pooled analysis, late tooth brushing initiation was associated with a non-significant 40% higher odds of early childhood caries (OR 1.40, 95% CI 0.91 to 2.16), with very high heterogeneity (I2=90.5%); ungraded.

2 findings from 1 review

Secondary (passive/secondhand) smoking exposure during childhood vs No secondary smoking exposure

Early childhood caries (ECC) - incidence/risk · Preschool children aged <=71 months (caries outcome assessed at 3-6 years)

Children exposed to secondary smoking from infancy have a higher incidence of early childhood caries by age 3 (RR 1.45; low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) vs Healthy controls without cleft

Bleeding Index (BI) · Individuals assessed for periodontal health (mainly children and adolescents, age >2 years)

Bleeding index is significantly higher in persons with orofacial cleft than in healthy controls (p<0.0001), but no pooled effect size was reported (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) vs Healthy controls without cleft

Oral microbiota composition · Individuals assessed for oral microbiota (mainly children and adolescents)

Oral microbiota composition differs between persons with orofacial cleft and healthy controls, synthesized qualitatively across 8 studies but not meta-analyzed (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Microinvasive techniques (resin infiltration, resin/GIC sealant, or glass ionomer varnish) vs Conventional restoration

Radiographic proximal caries lesion progression · Children and adults with non-cavitated proximal (interproximal) caries lesions in primary and/or permanent teeth (ages 3-45)

No eligible studies compared microinvasive techniques with invasive (restorative) treatment; this planned comparison had zero included studies.

1 finding from 1 review