Dental fillings (restorations) vs No treatment
Outcome not reported · Children aged 12 years or younger with tooth decay involving at least one tooth in the primary dentition, symptomatic or symptom free
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Gingivitis · Adults, 16 years and older (dentate)
It is very uncertain whether interdental brushing plus toothbrushing changes gingivitis (gingival index) compared with toothbrushing alone (very low certainty).
MD -0.53 [-0.83, -0.23]
1 study · 62 participants
Very low
MD -0.05 [-0.13, 0.03]
1 study · 31 participants
Very low
MD -0.53 [-0.83, -0.23]
1 study · 62 participants
Very low
Plaque · Adults, 16 years and older (dentate)
Interdental brushing plus toothbrushing may leads to lower plaque compared with toothbrushing alone (low certainty).
Gingivitis · Adults, 16 years and older (dentate)
Interdental brushing plus toothbrushing may leads to lower gingivitis (proportion of bleeding sites) compared with flossing plus toothbrushing (low certainty).
MD -0.06 [-0.08, -0.03]
6 studies · 234 participants
Low
SMD -0.40 [-0.70, -0.11]
3 studies · 183 participants
Low
SMD -0.53 [-0.81, -0.24]
7 studies · 326 participants
Low
Show 1 more finding
Plaque · Adults, 16 years and older (dentate)
It is very uncertain whether interdental brushing plus toothbrushing changes plaque compared with flossing plus toothbrushing (very low certainty).
SMD -0.47 [-0.84, -0.11]
5 studies · 290 participants
Very low
SMD 0.10 [-0.13, 0.33]
7 studies · 326 participants
Low
SMD -2.14 [-5.25, 0.97]
2 studies · 107 participants
Very low
Side effects · Adults, 16 years and older (dentate)
Harms and adverse outcomes (SoF): Neither study reported any information about adverse events. Jared 2005 assessed adverse events (participants issued a symptom diary) but did not report the findings; Graziani 2017 did…
1 study
GRADE not reported
Not estimable. Only 1 study reported adverse outcomes in terms of problems with the use of the assigned interdental cleaning aids. (See comment) In this comparison the single study (Jared 2005) asked participants to…
1 study
GRADE not reported
Side effects · Adults, 16 years and older (dentate)
Five studies reported there were no adverse events. Two studies reported on problems with the use of interdental brushes or floss, which sometimes caused soreness. (Six studies reported on adverse events; none…
6 studies
GRADE not reported
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
Periodontitis (probing pocket depth) · Adults, 16 years and older (dentate)
1 finding from 1 review
Periodontitis (probing pocket depth) · Adults, 16 years and older (dentate)
Interdental brushing plus toothbrushing showed no clear difference in periodontitis (probing pocket depth) compared with flossing plus toothbrushing (low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Bad breath (halitosis) · Adults, 16 years and older (dentate)
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Bad breath (halitosis) · Adults, 16 years and older (dentate)
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Quality of life · Adults, 16 years and older (dentate)
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Quality of life · Adults, 16 years and older (dentate)
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Periodontitis (clinical attachment loss) · Adults, 16 years and older (dentate)
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Periodontitis (clinical attachment loss) · Adults, 16 years and older (dentate)
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Composite: Preference for replacement over repair - Scenario 3: secondary caries · Dentists managing a defective direct resin composite restoration (posterior occlusal Class I; standardized vignette of a 30-year-old,…
Subgroup (Continent: Africa): pooled preference was replacement over repair for a defective composite restoration with secondary caries (RR 4.62); significant continental variation, p < 0.001.
5 findings from 1 review
Clinical Decision-Making of Repair vs. Replacement of Defective Direct Dental Restorations: A Multinational… 2025 All outcomesNot applicable (single time-point survey, June to October 2023) · Multinational (21 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, South America); general dental practice · Continent: Africa
RR 4.62 [3.64, 5.86]
2 studies · 339 participants
GRADE not reported
Clinical Decision-Making of Repair vs. Replacement of Defective Direct Dental Restorations: A Multinational… 2025 All outcomesNot applicable (single time-point survey, June to October 2023) · Multinational (21 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, South America); general dental practice · Overall (all 21 countries pooled)
RR 2.43 [1.87, 3.16]
21 studies · 3680 participants
GRADE not reported
Clinical Decision-Making of Repair vs. Replacement of Defective Direct Dental Restorations: A Multinational… 2025 All outcomesNot applicable (single time-point survey, June to October 2023) · Multinational (21 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, South America); general dental practice · Continent: Europe
RR 3.07 [2.41, 3.89]
6 studies · 1075 participants
GRADE not reported
Show 2 more findings
Composite: Preference for replacement over repair - Scenario 2: loss of dental hard substance adjacent to the restoration · Dentists managing a defective direct resin composite restoration (posterior occlusal Class I; standardized vignette of a 30-year-old,…
For a defective composite restoration with loss of dental hard substance adjacent to the restoration, surveyed dentists most often preferred repair over replacement (pooled RR 0.75; p = 0.004); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Absence of secondary caries · Children receiving dental restorations (aged 4-11 years; primary teeth; Class I/II/V cavities)
Ion-releasing and composite restorations show no significant difference in absence of secondary caries in children (high certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Amalgam: Preference for replacement over repair - Scenario 2: loss of dental hard substance adjacent to the restoration · Dentists managing a defective direct amalgam restoration (posterior occlusal Class I; standardized vignette of a 30-year-old,…
For a defective amalgam restoration with loss of dental hard substance adjacent to the restoration, surveyed dentists most often preferred replacement over repair (pooled RR 4.70; p < 0.001); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
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