Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

781 questions · 1,089 findings · 92 reviews · Dental caries

No studies found 77 · 7.1%GRADE not reported 781 · 71.7%Very low 86 · 7.9%Low 97 · 8.9%Moderate 38 · 3.5%High 10 · 0.9%

Topical fluoride therapy (toothpaste, mouthrinse, gel or varnish; any fluoride agent/concentration; frequency at least once a year) vs placebo or no treatment

Adverse effects (tooth staining/discoloration, oral soft-tissue signs, adverse symptoms such as nausea/vomiting, enamel etching) · Children and adolescents aged 16 years or less
1 finding from 1 review

Topical fluoride therapy (toothpaste, mouthrinse, gel or varnish; any fluoride agent/concentration; frequency at least once a year) vs placebo or no treatment

Adverse effects: dental fluorosis · Children and adolescents aged 16 years or less

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Topical fluoride therapy (toothpaste, mouthrinse, gel or varnish; any fluoride agent/concentration; frequency at least once a year) vs placebo or no treatment

Unacceptability of treatment (dropouts/exclusions during the trial) · Children and adolescents aged 16 years or less

Topical fluoride therapy (toothpaste, mouthrinse, gel or varnish;… showed no clear difference in unacceptability of treatment (dropouts/exclusions during the trial) compared with placebo or no treatment; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Topical fluoride therapy (toothpaste, mouthrinse, gel or varnish; any fluoride agent/concentration; frequency at least once a year) vs placebo or no treatment

Proportion developing new caries · Children and adolescents aged 16 years or younger (permanent dentition)

Topical fluoride therapy (toothpaste, mouthrinse, gel or varnish;… led to lower proportion of children developing one or more new caries compared with placebo or no treatment; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene advice for pregnant women, mothers, infants and young children, plus dietary and feeding practice advice for infants and young children vs usual care

Caries presence in primary teeth · For interventions, pregnant women, mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years…

It is very uncertain whether package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene… changes caries presence in primary teeth compared with standard care (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene advice for pregnant women, mothers, infants and young children, plus dietary and feeding practice advice for infants and young children vs usual care

Caries presence in top front four teeth · For interventions, pregnant women, mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years…

It is very uncertain whether package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene… changes caries presence in top front four teeth compared with standard care (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene advice for pregnant women, mothers, infants and young children, plus dietary and feeding practice advice for infants and young children vs usual care

Dental caries · For interventions, pregnant women, mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years…

Package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene… showed no clear difference in dmfs index score compared with standard care (low certainty).

2 findings from 1 review

Package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene advice for pregnant women, mothers, infants and young children, plus dietary and feeding practice advice for infants and young children vs usual care

Mother self-reported oral health behaviours · For interventions, pregnant women, mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years…
1 finding from 1 review

Package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene advice for pregnant women, mothers, infants and young children, plus dietary and feeding practice advice for infants and young children vs usual care

Child dental attendance · For interventions, pregnant women, mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years…
1 finding from 1 review

Package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene advice for pregnant women, mothers, infants and young children, plus dietary and feeding practice advice for infants and young children vs usual care

Child oral health behaviours · For interventions, pregnant women, mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years…
1 finding from 1 review

Package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene advice for pregnant women, mothers, infants and young children, plus dietary and feeding practice advice for infants and young children vs usual care

Adverse events for mother or child · For interventions, pregnant women, mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years…
1 finding from 1 review

Package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene advice for pregnant women, mothers, infants and young children, plus dietary and feeding practice advice for infants and young children vs usual care

Child plaque (any plaque visible on any teeth) · For interventions, pregnant women, mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years…

Package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene… led to lower child plaque (any plaque visible on any teeth) compared with standard care; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene advice for pregnant women, mothers, infants and young children, plus dietary and feeding practice advice for infants and young children vs usual care

d1-4 efs · For interventions, pregnant women, mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years…
1 finding from 1 review

Package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene advice for pregnant women, mothers, infants and young children, plus dietary and feeding practice advice for infants and young children vs usual care

Child microbiological presence (any mutans streptococci colonisation) · For interventions, pregnant women, mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years…

Package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene… showed no clear difference in child microbiological presence (mutans streptococci colonisation) compared with standard care; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene advice for pregnant women, mothers, infants and young children, plus dietary and feeding practice advice for infants and young children vs usual care

SiC30 index score · For interventions, pregnant women, mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years…

Package of oral health education/promotion including oral hygiene… led to lower siC30 index score compared with standard care; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Comprehensive oral health intervention (oral health education plus additional support: motivational interviewing, toothbrush/toothpaste provision, community engagement, and/or fluoride varnish/sealant application) delivered by non-dental health workers vs control (no intervention/usual care/isotonic exercise)

Caries experience at the surface level (dmfs/defs) · Children (mean age newborn to ~5.2 years) and their parents/carers

Comprehensive interventions produced a small, statistically significant reduction in surface-level caries (dmfs SMD -0.14, 95% CI -0.26 to -0.02; 10 studies; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Comprehensive oral health intervention (oral health education plus additional support: motivational interviewing, toothbrush/toothpaste provision, community engagement, and/or fluoride varnish/sealant application) delivered by non-dental health workers vs control (no intervention/usual care/isotonic exercise)

Caries experience · Children (mean age newborn to ~5.2 years) and their parents/carers

Comprehensive interventions produced a statistically significant reduction in tooth-level caries (dmft SMD -0.47, 95% CI -0.84 to -0.10; 4 studies; not GRADE-rated), though heterogeneity was very high.

1 finding from 1 review

Non-syndromic cleft lip and palate (CLP) status and its oral microbiota (exposure/grouping) vs Children and adolescents aged 0-18 years without CLP (controls)

Dental caries · Children and adolescents aged 0-18 years with non-syndromic cleft lip and palate (CLP)

Pooling 3 studies, children/adolescents with CLP were about 2.03 times more likely to have dental caries than non-CLP controls (p<0.005; low heterogeneity), though most included studies were at high risk of bias; the evidence is ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Non-syndromic cleft lip and palate (CLP) status and its oral microbiota (exposure/grouping) vs Children and adolescents aged 0-18 years without CLP (controls)

Lactobacillus spp. salivary/plaque counts (cariogenic microbiota) · Children and adolescents aged 0-18 years with non-syndromic cleft lip and palate (CLP)

A meta-analysis found no significant difference in mean Lactobacillus spp. levels between children with and without CLP, with high heterogeneity; the evidence is ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Non-syndromic cleft lip and palate (CLP) status and its oral microbiota (exposure/grouping) vs Children and adolescents aged 0-18 years without CLP (controls)

Streptococcus mutans count · Children and adolescents aged 0-18 years with non-syndromic cleft lip and palate (CLP)

A meta-analysis of 2 studies found no difference in mean Streptococcus mutans levels between children with and without CLP, with very high heterogeneity; the evidence is ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review