What do systematic reviews say?

Interdental brushing plus toothbrushing vs Toothbrushing alone

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interdental brushing for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Not estimable. No included study assessed bad breath as an outcome. (See comment)
  0 studies
  No studies found

Interdental brushing plus toothbrushing vs Flossing plus toothbrushing

Interdental brushing plus toothbrushing may leads to lower gingivitis (bleeding and gingival indices; standardised across… compared with flossing plus toothbrushing (low certainty).

• Interdental brushing for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes

  1 month (4 to 6 weeks)
  SMD -0.53 [-0.81, -0.24]
  7 studies · 326 participants
  Low
• Interdental brushing for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes

  3 months (12 weeks)
  SMD -1.98 [-5.42, 1.47]
  2 studies · 107 participants
  Very low

Primary school-based behavioural intervention (both oral hygiene and dietary components) vs No treatment (or delayed treatment)

• Primary school‐based behavioural interventions for preventing caries 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Worthington 2001 reported changes in oral health knowledge and skills: improvement was apparent in both intervention and control groups at the 4-month follow-up (phase one) but greater in the intervention group (34%…
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Interdental brushing plus toothbrushing vs Flossing plus toothbrushing

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interdental brushing for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Not estimable. No included study assessed caries as an outcome. (See comment)
  0 studies
  No studies found

Fluoride varnish vs placebo or no treatment

• Fluoride varnishes for preventing dental caries in children and adolescents 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes

  At least 1 year
  Three trials (Salazar 2008; Skold 2005; Weintraub 2006) provided data reporting no adverse effects. There was little information concerning possible adverse effects; no pooled estimate was possible.
  3 studies
  GRADE not reported

Interdental brushing plus toothbrushing vs Flossing plus toothbrushing

Interdental brushing plus toothbrushing showed no clear difference in plaque (plaque indices; standardised across indices) compared with flossing plus toothbrushing (low certainty).

• Interdental brushing for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes

  1 month (4 to 6 weeks)
  SMD 0.10 [-0.13, 0.33]
  7 studies · 326 participants
  Low
• Interdental brushing for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes

  3 months (12 weeks)
  SMD -2.14 [-5.25, 0.97]
  2 studies · 107 participants
  Very low

Interdental brushing plus toothbrushing vs Flossing plus toothbrushing

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interdental brushing for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Not estimable. No included study assessed bad breath as an outcome. (See comment)
  0 studies
  No studies found

Fluoride varnish vs placebo or no treatment

• Fluoride varnishes for preventing dental caries in children and adolescents 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes

  At least 1 year · Primary/deciduous dentition
  PF 0.65 [0.48, 0.82]
  2 studies · 322 participants
  GRADE not reported

Interdental brushing plus toothbrushing vs Toothbrushing alone

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interdental brushing for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Not estimable. No included study assessed quality of life as an outcome. (See comment)
  0 studies
  No studies found

Primary school-based behavioural intervention (both oral hygiene and dietary components) vs No treatment (or delayed treatment)

• Primary school‐based behavioural interventions for preventing caries 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Worthington 2001 found no change in reported dental visits over the course of the programmes, with 97% of children at baseline reporting visiting the dentist every 2 years.
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Interdental brushing plus toothbrushing vs Toothbrushing alone

It is very uncertain whether interdental brushing plus toothbrushing changes gingivitis (Loe-Silness gingival index, interproximal; scale 0 to 4) compared with toothbrushing alone (very low certainty).

• Interdental brushing for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes

  4 weeks (1 month)
  MD -0.53 [-0.83, -0.23]
  1 study · 62 participants
  Very low

Primary school-based behavioural intervention (both oral hygiene and dietary components) vs No treatment (or delayed treatment)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Primary school‐based behavioural interventions for preventing caries 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No other behavioural outcomes (e.g. objective toothbrush tracking or food-wrapper collection) were measured by the four included studies.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Fluoride varnish vs placebo or no treatment

Fluoride varnish showed no clear difference in proportion of children developing one or more new caries (permanent… compared with placebo or no treatment; GRADE not reported.

• Fluoride varnishes for preventing dental caries in children and adolescents 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes

  At least 1 year
  RR 0.75 [0.53, 1.05]
  5 studies · 3253 participants
  GRADE not reported

Interdental brushing plus toothbrushing vs Flossing plus toothbrushing

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interdental brushing for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Not estimable. No included study assessed quality of life as an outcome. (See comment)
  0 studies
  No studies found

Primary school-based behavioural intervention (both oral hygiene and dietary components) vs No treatment (or delayed treatment)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Primary school‐based behavioural interventions for preventing caries 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No study reported any adverse events.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Interdental brushing plus toothbrushing vs Toothbrushing alone

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interdental brushing for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Not estimable. No included study assessed caries as an outcome. (See comment)
  0 studies
  No studies found

Primary school-based behavioural intervention (both oral hygiene and dietary components) vs No treatment (or delayed treatment)

• Primary school‐based behavioural interventions for preventing caries 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes

  2 years
  PF 0.49
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Primary school-based behavioural intervention (both oral hygiene and dietary components) vs No treatment (or delayed treatment)

• Primary school‐based behavioural interventions for preventing caries 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Worthington 2001: few children had problems identifying foods containing sugar; only 15% of intervention and 19% of control participants reported routinely consuming sugary snacks on arriving home from school; snacking…
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Fluoride varnish vs placebo or no treatment

• Fluoride varnishes for preventing dental caries in children and adolescents 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes

  At least 1 year
  PF 0.44 [0.11, 0.76]
  5 studies
  GRADE not reported

Interdental brushing plus toothbrushing vs Flossing plus toothbrushing

• Interdental brushing for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Not estimable. 2 studies reported adverse outcomes in terms of problems with the use of the assigned interdental cleaning aids. We were unable to pool data. (See comment) Three further studies reported that no adverse…
  5 studies
  GRADE not reported