White spot lesions assessed by laser fluorescence (DIAGNOdent) · Patients of any age (11-40 years) receiving comprehensive/fixed orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances
White spot lesions were also measured by laser fluorescence in 3 fluoride-vs-non-fluoride studies, but no meta-analysis was possible due to incompatible reporting.
1 finding from 1 review
Initiation of white spot lesions (WSL), visual-tactile assessment · Patients of any age (11-40 years) receiving comprehensive/fixed orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances
Fluoride-releasing coating materials do not appear to reduce WSL initiation more than non-fluoride coatings (RR 0.84, not significant); certainty of evidence is very low.
1 finding from 1 review
Initiation of white spot lesions (WSL), visual-tactile assessment · Patients of any age (11-40 years) receiving comprehensive/fixed orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances
For resin-based bonding agents, fluoride release did not significantly change WSL initiation (RR 0.97); subgroup not separately GRADE-rated.
1 finding from 1 review
Early childhood caries (ECC) · Children aged 6 years or younger (preschool children)
Adjusted analyses also showed no association between low birth weight and early childhood caries (adjusted OR 1.05, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.57); certainty not graded.
3 findings from 1 review
Future caries · Children without a previous history of caries
Veillonella spp. predicted future caries among children without a caries history, but no quantitative effect estimate was reported.
1 finding from 1 review
Among children without a previous history of caries, Veillonella spp., but not S. mutans or other acid-producing species, predicted future caries.
1 study · NA (subgroup without prior caries history; n not reported) participants
GRADE not reported
Streptococcus mutans colonization reduction (narrative; no CFU data reported) · Animal caries models (mice, rats, hamsters) challenged/colonized with Streptococcus mutans; one transgenic-plant antigen-expression system
Anticaries vaccines produced a sustained reduction in Streptococcus mutans colonization on teeth in animal models (ungraded narrative synthesis; no pooled estimate).
1 finding from 1 review
no estimate extracted
Studies not reported
GRADE not reported
Relative abundance of S. mutans in saliva · Individuals assessed for dental caries, predominantly children with early childhood caries (ECC) or severe ECC (age about 1 to 4 years)
A few small studies report Streptococcus mutans relative abundance in caries versus caries-free children without pooling; the evidence is ungraded and not meta-analyzed.
1 finding from 1 review
Restoration failure · Permanent posterior teeth (molars/premolars) receiving direct restoration
There was no statistically significant difference in failure risk between composite resin and amalgam restorations in permanent posterior teeth (pooled RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.68 to 1.34; 13 studies; not GRADE-rated, with very high heterogeneity, I2 = 97%).
1 finding from 1 review
Salivary / secretory IgA (SIgA) antibody response (immunogenicity) · Animal caries models (mice, rats, hamsters) challenged/colonized with Streptococcus mutans; one transgenic-plant antigen-expression system
Anticaries vaccines, particularly via mucosal (intranasal) routes, elicited increased salivary/secretory IgA responses in the animal studies (ungraded narrative synthesis; no pooled estimate).
1 finding from 1 review
no estimate extracted
Studies not reported
GRADE not reported
Dental caries and cariogenic bacteria (Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacilli) · Adult e-cigarette (ENDS) users (general oral health; predominantly natural dentition)
E-cigarette use is associated with more cariogenic bacteria and increased dental caries risk compared with non-smokers (narrative synthesis; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Narrative synthesis: e-cigarette use linked to increased cariogenic bacteria (S. mutans, Lactobacilli) and worsening dental caries, with flavored e-liquids noted as a caries risk factor (Zieba, Camoni, Yang…
3 studies
GRADE not reported
Self-reported gingivitis · Adult e-cigarette (ENDS) users (general oral health; predominantly natural dentition)
E-cigarette use is associated with self-reported gingivitis compared with non-smokers (single included review; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Oral microbiota composition (dysbiosis; increased periodontal/opportunistic pathogens) · Adult e-cigarette (ENDS) users (general oral health; predominantly natural dentition)
E-cigarette use is associated with oral microbiota dysbiosis and increased pathogenic bacteria compared with non-smokers (narrative synthesis; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Serum IgG antibody response (immunogenicity) · Animal caries models (mice, rats, hamsters) challenged/colonized with Streptococcus mutans; one transgenic-plant antigen-expression system
Anticaries vaccines elicited increased serum IgG antibody responses across the animal studies (ungraded narrative synthesis; no pooled estimate).
1 finding from 1 review
no estimate extracted
Studies not reported
GRADE not reported
Caries experience (mean DMFT) · 12-year-old children across European countries (national/regional epidemiological surveys, 2011-2022)
Across European countries the overall pooled mean DMFT in 12-year-olds was 2.10 (95% CI 1.63 to 2.57), with very high between-country heterogeneity (I2=100%); not GRADE-rated.
1 finding from 1 review
Plaque index (PI) / oral hygiene · Adult e-cigarette (ENDS) users (general oral health; predominantly natural dentition)
E-cigarette users tend to have a higher plaque index (more biofilm accumulation) than non-smokers (narrative synthesis of systematic reviews; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Narrative synthesis: e-cigarette users exhibited a higher plaque index than non-smokers across included reviews (Shabil, Vamos, Youssef, Thiem, Figueredo, Yang [24,25,27,29,30,31]); the umbrella review reported no…
6 studies
GRADE not reported
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
Periodontitis / periodontal disease and periodontal parameters · Adult e-cigarette (ENDS) users (general oral health; predominantly natural dentition)
E-cigarette users appear more likely to develop periodontal disease and worse periodontal parameters than non-smokers (narrative synthesis; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Narrative synthesis: e-cigarette use associated with increased risk of periodontal and gingival disease and worse periodontal parameters vs non-smokers (Tattar, Shabil, Figueredo, Yang [23,24,30,31]); no pooled…
7 studies
GRADE not reported
Development of >=1 new carious lesion (caries incidence) · Animal caries models (mice, rats, hamsters) challenged/colonized with Streptococcus mutans; one transgenic-plant antigen-expression system
In preclinical animal models, anticaries vaccines significantly reduced dental caries risk (pooled RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.62; random-effects), but the evidence is ungraded and limited to short-term animal studies.
1 finding from 1 review
RR 0.53 [0.46, 0.62]
Studies not reported
GRADE not reported
Relative abundance of Veillonella spp. · Individuals assessed for dental caries, predominantly children with early childhood caries (ECC) or severe ECC (age about 1 to 4 years)
Evidence on whether Veillonella spp. relative abundance is higher or lower in children with dental caries than caries-free controls is inconsistent across 7 small observational studies; no pooled estimate was produced and the evidence is ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Dental caries (self-reported history) · Japanese adults (present-study direct-to-consumer genetic testing cohort); self-reported disease cases vs controls
Gene-based analysis found ADGRL2 significantly associated with dental caries (FDR q<0.05); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review