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Each row is one question a systematic review asked: who, what, compared with what, and which outcome, with the effect it found and how certain that is. Every word you type has to appear somewhere in the question, and the closest matches are ranked first.
5,762 questions in 263 reviews · Dental caries
current versionsNo studies 321 · 5.6%Ungraded 4,450 · 77.2%Very low 455 · 7.9%Low 297 · 5.2%Moderate 200 · 3.5%High 39 · 0.7%
Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.
| Question | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
38% silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs No treatment / other preventive agents (GIC, 5% NaF varnish) Caries arrest · Children with dentine carious lesions (ICDAS 4-5) in primary teeth · 6-48 months, Pooled caries-arrest proportion (Gao et al. 2016 meta-analysis) Minimal intervention dentistry for managing carious lesions into dentine in primary teeth: an umbrella review. (2022) | Proportion (caries arrest) 81 [68, 89] | 12 studies | Ungraded |
Pulpotomy with Biodentine vs Pulpotomy with mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) Clinical and radiographic success rate (>=6 months) · Human permanent teeth with irreversible pulpitis due to carious pulp exposure · >=6 months, Pulp capping material: Biodentine vs MTA Outcome of pulpotomy in permanent teeth with irreversible pulpitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. (2022) | Biodentine demonstrated a statistically significantly higher success rate than MTA (indirect comparison; numeric estimate in Supplementary Table S5, not available). | NR | Ungraded |
Preformed metal crown placed by the Hall technique (PMC/HT) vs Compomer restoration or non-restorative caries treatment Treatment failure (annual failure rate) · Children (aged 3-8 years) with 2-surface occluso-proximal dentine caries in primary molars, no pulp therapy · 2.5 years / 30 months (Santamaria 2017) Clinical effectiveness of restorative materials for the restoration of carious primary teeth without pulp… (2022) | Annual failure rate (%) PMC Hall technique 3.1%; compomer 14.7% | 1 study · 169 participants | Ungraded |
Caries assessment at enamel threshold vs None Caries prevalence · European adolescents aged 14 years · Exact age Dental caries at enamel and dentine level among European adolescents - a systematic review and meta-analysis. (2022) | Prevalence 0.82 [0.76, 0.87] | 2 studies | Ungraded |
Genetically predicted gene expression (TWAS; S-PrediXcan with GTEx v8 cis-eQTL across 49 tissues; cross-tissue S-MultiXcan) vs ECC-unaffected children (association of genetically predicted expression) Early childhood caries (ECC) - association with genetically predicted expression of NRAD1 (LINC00284) (chr13q14.11) · Children up to age 5-6 years (European / European non-Hispanic ancestry); 843 ECC-affected vs 2124 unaffected across 5… · Cross-sectional (ECC ascertained at the last dental exam before age 6), NRAD1 (LINC00284) (chr13q14.11); 30 (5) tissues; significant (Bonferroni p < 3.09x10-6) ; flagged possible false positive Association of Early Childhood Caries with Bitter Taste Receptors: A Meta-Analysis of Genome-Wide… (2022) | Z-score (cross-tissue mean, S-MultiXcan) 0.13 | 5 studies · 2974 participants | Ungraded |
Conventional compomer vs Colored compomer Restoration failure · Children with carious primary teeth · 1 year, Class II Clinical effectiveness of restorative materials for the restoration of carious primary teeth without pulp… (2022) | Annual failure rate (%) Compoglass F 4.3%; Twinky Star 7.0% | 1 study · 98 participants | Ungraded |
Hall Technique preformed metal crowns vs Conventional restorations (amalgam, GIC, composite) Gingival bleeding (adverse event) · Children (3-10 years) with dentine caries in primary molars · Not reported Minimal intervention dentistry for managing carious lesions into dentine in primary teeth: an umbrella review. (2022) | RR 1.09 [0.42, 2.86] | 2 studies | Ungraded |
Flowable resin composite vs Fluoride-releasing resin-based sealant Development of >=1 new carious lesion (caries incidence) · Children who were regular dental attenders with caries-free first or second primary molars (public health service… Sealants for preventing dental caries in primary teeth (2022) · Cochrane | No studies reported this outcome. | 0 studies | No studies |
Primary school-based interventions (one or more of: school health policy, oral health education, healthy school environment, access to oral health services, community involvement) vs No intervention or usual practice/activities Dental caries measured by net increment in DMFT scores · Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) · Post-intervention; follow-up varied across studies (interventions ranged from <2 years to >=2 years and longer) Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and… (2022) | SMD -0.34 [-0.69, 0.02] | 5 studies · 5492 participants | Very low |
Silver diamine fluoride (SDF; 38% or 30%) vs Atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) Caries arrest · Children (age 1-10 years) with active cavitated dentin caries lesions in primary molars · Pooled across 3-12 month follow-ups, Comparator: SDF vs ART (moderator analysis by treatment type) Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) Efficacy in Arresting Cavitated Caries Lesions in Primary Molars: A Systematic… (2022) | ES 0.05 [-0.42, 0.51] | 2 studies · 146 participants | Ungraded |
High-viscosity GIC atraumatic restorative treatment vs No control Restoration survival · Children with caries in primary molars · 2 years, Single-surface Minimal intervention dentistry for managing carious lesions into dentine in primary teeth: an umbrella review. (2022) | Survival rate 91 | 9 studies | Ungraded |
Genetically predicted gene expression (TWAS; S-PrediXcan with GTEx v8 cis-eQTL across 49 tissues; cross-tissue S-MultiXcan) vs ECC-unaffected children (association of genetically predicted expression) Early childhood caries (ECC) - association with genetically predicted expression of TAS2R31 (chr12p13.2) · Children up to age 5-6 years (European / European non-Hispanic ancestry); 843 ECC-affected vs 2124 unaffected across 5… · Cross-sectional (ECC ascertained at the last dental exam before age 6), TAS2R31 (chr12p13.2); 41 (4) tissues; suggestive (p < 1.0x10-4) Association of Early Childhood Caries with Bitter Taste Receptors: A Meta-Analysis of Genome-Wide… (2022) | Z-score (cross-tissue mean, S-MultiXcan) -0.25 | 5 studies · 2974 participants | Ungraded |
Composite resin restoration (hybrid or bulk-fill) vs Compomer, glass-ionomer/RMGIC, amalgam, or glass carbomer Treatment failure (annual failure rate) · Children with previously unrestored, vital carious lesions in primary teeth (no pulp therapy); aged 1.5-11 years · 12-48 months Clinical effectiveness of restorative materials for the restoration of carious primary teeth without pulp… (2022) | Annual failure rate (%) hybrid 0-19.5%; bulk-fill 0-16.9% | 11 studies | Ungraded |
Adaptive dragonfly algorithm with neural-network classifier vs K-nearest neighbors; support vector machine; Naive Bayes; LM-NN Accuracy advantage in test case 1 · Dental images of human beings · Patil et al., 2019 Uses of Different Machine Learning Algorithms for Diagnosis of Dental Caries. (2022) | Accuracy advantage 5.55 | 1 study · 40 participants | Ungraded |
Caries assessment at enamel threshold vs None Caries experience · European adolescents aged 15 years · Exact age Dental caries at enamel and dentine level among European adolescents - a systematic review and meta-analysis. (2022) | Mean DMFS 6.62 [4.71, 9.30] | 7 studies | Ungraded |
New restorative materials with bio-active molecules (bio-active materials, BM) vs Any restorative material or technique Not applicable (no eligible studies) · Children with carious primary teeth (no pulp therapy) Clinical effectiveness of restorative materials for the restoration of carious primary teeth without pulp… (2022) | The search retrieved no randomized controlled trials on the clinical effectiveness of new bio-active restorative materials for carious primary teeth. | 0 studies | No studies |
Pulpotomy (partial or full) vs None (single-arm pooled success proportion) Clinical and radiographic success rate (>=6 months) · Human permanent teeth with irreversible pulpitis and open (immature) root apex due to carious pulp exposure · >=6 months, Open (immature) root apex Outcome of pulpotomy in permanent teeth with irreversible pulpitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. (2022) | Proportion 0.958 [0.81, 0.99] | 3 studies | Ungraded |
Caries severity measurement (mean number of decayed, missing and filled permanent teeth, DMFT; WHO criteria) vs None (descriptive prevalence review; subgroup analyses by urban/rural status, country and year) Caries severity (mean DMFT) · 12-year-old children (permanent dentition) in Africa · Country: The Gambia Prevalence of dental caries in the permanent dentition amongst 12-year-olds in Africa: a systematic review… (2022) | MEAN 2.27 [1.931, 2.609] | 1 study | Ungraded |
Living with HIV and undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART/HAART) vs Healthy HIV-negative controls Oral candidiasis (WHO clinical stage 3) · Children and adolescents (<18 years) · Cross-sectional (case-control; single time point) Oral Health Status of Children and Adolescents Living with HIV Undergoing Antiretroviral Therapy: A… (2022) | OR 16.94 [5.06, 56.70] | 5 studies | Ungraded |
Responsive / non-responsive complementary feeding (RCF/NRCF) vs Other models of complementary feeding Choking · Healthy, term-born, normal-birth-weight infants aged 4-24 months (breastfed and/or formula-fed) in Western… · Infancy Complementary Feeding Caregivers' Practices and Growth, Risk of Overweight/Obesity, and Other… (2022) | No SRs or studies relevant to the risk of choking were found that included NRCF or RCF approaches other than those specifically defined as BLW or BLISS. | 0 studies | No studies |
Intervention NR Difference in summary sensitivity (NMA, Analysis 2) · Electrical conductance vs Imaging Enamel Caries Detection and Diagnosis: An Analysis of Systematic Reviews. (2022) | Sensitivity difference (95% CrI) 0.33 [0.15, 0.47] | NR | Ungraded |
Autopolymerised sealant vs Light polymerised sealant Progression of non-cavitated enamel caries · Children with sound primary molars, aged 2-4 years (municipal dental clinics or hospital paediatric clinics, Denmark) Sealants for preventing dental caries in primary teeth (2022) · Cochrane | No studies reported on this outcome. | 0 studies | No studies |
Atraumatic restorative treatment vs Conventional treatment with local anaesthesia Discomfort during procedure · Children (6-8 years) with caries in primary teeth · During procedure, Children 6-8 years; ART vs conventional treatment with local anaesthetic Minimal intervention dentistry for managing carious lesions into dentine in primary teeth: an umbrella review. (2022) | OR 0.95 [0.51, 1.79] | 6 studies · 1107 participants | Ungraded |
Enamel caries quantification (DeS/DeT within total D(M)FS/D(M)FT) vs None (descriptive prevalence review; subgroup analyses only) Enamel caries proportion of total caries experience · European adolescents aged 12–19 years · Age group: 12–15 years Dental caries at enamel and dentine level among European adolescents - a systematic review and meta-analysis. (2022) | Proportion 0.56 [0.42, 0.76] | 8 studies | Ungraded |
Fluoride-containing dental care products (mainly fluoride toothpaste) vs Dietary fluoride sources (drinking water, beverages, food) Contribution of dental care products to total daily fluoride intake (TDFI), by tap-water fluoride level · Children using fluoride-containing dental care products (majority of included studies) · Habitual daily intake, High-fluoridated tap water (0.78-1.5 mg/L) Fluoride Intake Through Dental Care Products: A Systematic Review. (2022) | Mean contribution to TDFI (%) 41 | 8 studies | Ungraded |
Caries experience measurement (mean D(M)FS, enamel lesions included) vs None (descriptive prevalence review; subgroup analyses only) Caries experience (mean DMFS) · European adolescents aged 12–19 years · Age group: 12–15 years Dental caries at enamel and dentine level among European adolescents - a systematic review and meta-analysis. (2022) | MEAN 5.58 [4.33, 7.21] | 17 studies | Ungraded |
Ion-releasing restoration, glass ionomer-based (conventional GIC, HV-GIC, RMGIC, glass hybrid) vs Resin composite restoration Marginal adaptation (unacceptable marginal adaptation) · Patients with permanent dentition in need of restorations (all cavity types: Black's Class I, II, V, and non-carious… · 18 months-2 years Secondary caries and marginal adaptation of ion-releasing versus resin composite restorations: a systematic… (2022) | RD 0.03 [-0.02, 0.08] | 7 studies · 1018 participants | Low |
Primary school-based interventions (one or more of: school health policy, oral health education, healthy school environment, access to oral health services, community involvement) vs No intervention or usual practice/activities Dental caries prevalence measured by dmft or DMFT/S score greater than one · Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) · >=2 years, Intervention duration >=2 years Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and… (2022) | RR 0.58 [0.40, 0.84] | 2 studies | Ungraded |
Food marketing exposure or greater marketing power vs No marketing, less marketing, or less powerful marketing Dental caries · Children and adolescents aged 0-19 years · Vote counting by direction of effect Association of Food and Nonalcoholic Beverage Marketing With Children and Adolescents' Eating Behaviors and… (2022) | Proportion 0.50 [0.09, 0.905] | 2 studies | Very low |
Fluorescence-based devices vs Reference standard (histology, operative excavation, or enhanced visual examination) Specificity for detecting enamel caries · Asymptomatic children or adults suspected of enamel caries (clinical studies); extracted teeth (in vitro studies) · Analysis 2: network meta-analysis (all studies evaluating >=2 index tests) Enamel Caries Detection and Diagnosis: An Analysis of Systematic Reviews. (2022) | Specificity 0.83 [0.75, 0.89] | 64 studies · 24567 participants | Low |
Dental caries assessment (WHO/clinical diagnostic criteria; caries = DMFT>0) vs None (descriptive prevalence review; subgroup analyses by urban/rural status, country and year) Caries prevalence · 12-year-old children (permanent dentition) in Africa · Country: Burkina Faso Prevalence of dental caries in the permanent dentition amongst 12-year-olds in Africa: a systematic review… (2022) | Prevalence 0.29 [0.247, 0.326] | 1 study | Ungraded |
Machine-learning algorithms for dental caries detection vs Different machine-learning algorithms for caries prediction Post-Streptococcus mutans prediction accuracy · Dental images of human beings · Javed et al., 2019; feedforward backpropagation ANN Uses of Different Machine Learning Algorithms for Diagnosis of Dental Caries. (2022) | Accuracy 99 | 1 study · 45 participants | Ungraded |
Atraumatic restorative treatment vs Placebo Oral health-related quality of life · Children with dental caries · Indirect estimate Silver diamine fluoride and oral health-related quality of life: A review and network meta-analysis. (2022) | MD -0.01 [-0.40, 0.38] | NR | Ungraded |
Baby-led weaning (BLW) / BLISS vs Traditional complementary feeding (TCF) Choking · Healthy, term-born, normal-birth-weight infants aged 4-24 months (breastfed and/or formula-fed) in Western… · Infancy to ~24-36 months Complementary Feeding Caregivers' Practices and Growth, Risk of Overweight/Obesity, and Other… (2022) | No statistically significant differences in the rate of choking events were observed between TCF-fed infants and BLW/BLISS-fed infants (2 BLW observational studies, 1 BLISS RCT, plus 3 later studies; not pooled). | 6 studies | Ungraded |
Food and nonalcoholic beverage marketing (exposure) vs No, less, or less powerful food marketing Body weight / BMI · Children and adolescents aged 0-19 years Association of Food and Nonalcoholic Beverage Marketing With Children and Adolescents' Eating Behaviors and… (2022) | A single moderate-quality observational study found no significant association between food marketing and body weight/BMI. | 1 study | Very low |
Dental caries vs Caries-free oral health Beta diversity and community composition · Participants in oral 16S rRNA caries microbiome studies Meta-analysis of caries microbiome studies can improve upon disease prediction outcomes. (2022) | no estimate extracted | 19 studies · 2016 participants | Ungraded |
Resin infiltration (ICON, low-viscosity infiltrative resin; DMG) vs Pre-treatment baseline before infiltration (T0); pooled as a within-arm before/after change Lightness/brightness change of white spot lesion (luminosity L*, T0 to T1) · Patients with post-orthodontic white spot lesions (permanent dentition, after removal of fixed multibracket… · 6 months Changes in the Color and Brightness of White Spots Associated with Orthodontic Treatment 6 Months after the… (2022) | SMD -0.001 [-0.23, 0.23] | 3 studies · 330 participants | Ungraded |
Combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) vs Monotherapy or dual antiretroviral therapy Oral hairy leukoplakia prevalence · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH) Impact of Antiretroviral Therapy on Oral Health among Children Living with HIV: A Systematic Review and… (2022) | No eligible studies compared oral hairy leukoplakia between CLWH on different ART medications. | 0 studies | No studies |
Caries assessment at enamel threshold vs None Caries prevalence · European adolescents aged 18 years · Exact age Dental caries at enamel and dentine level among European adolescents - a systematic review and meta-analysis. (2022) | Prevalence 0.94 [0.93, 0.96] | 2 studies | Ungraded |
Antiretroviral therapy (any, including cART) vs No antiretroviral medication (treatment-naive) Mucosal hyperpigmentation prevalence · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH) Impact of Antiretroviral Therapy on Oral Health among Children Living with HIV: A Systematic Review and… (2022) | OR 1.79 [0.89, 3.61] | NR | Very low |
Atraumatic restorative treatment vs Silver diamine fluoride Oral health-related quality of life · Children with dental caries · Direct estimate Silver diamine fluoride and oral health-related quality of life: A review and network meta-analysis. (2022) | MD 0.02 [-0.32, 0.36] | 2 studies · 134 participants | Ungraded |
Composite strip crown (CSC) with a post (microhybrid composite resin, Amelogen) vs Post type: composite post (CP) vs fibre post (FP) vs reverse metal post (RMP) Treatment failure (annual failure rate) · Children with severely decayed maxillary primary incisors treated by pulpectomy (non-vital pulp therapy) · 1 year, Fibre post (FP) arm Clinical effectiveness of restorative materials for the restoration of carious lesions in pulp treated… (2022) | AFR 2.2 | 1 study · 54 participants | Ungraded |
Dental caries (early childhood caries, ECC) vs Caries-free controls Relative abundance of Veillonella spp. · Children with early childhood caries (ECC) and caries-free children · Supragingival biofilm/plaque Meta-Analysis Using NGS Data: The Veillonella Species in Dental Caries. (2022) | MD 3.11 [0.67, 5.55] | 4 studies · 158 participants | Ungraded |
Icon resin infiltration vs Baseline before resin infiltration Lightness change · Patients with post-orthodontic white spot lesions and permanent dentition · 6 months Changes in the Color and Brightness of White Spots Associated with Orthodontic Treatment 6 Months after the… (2022) | Cohen's d -1.76 [-2.22, -1.30] | 1 study | Ungraded |
Ion-releasing restoration, glass ionomer-based (conventional GIC, HV-GIC, RMGIC, glass hybrid) vs Resin composite restoration Marginal adaptation (unacceptable marginal adaptation) · Patients with permanent dentition in need of restorations (all cavity types: Black's Class I, II, V, and non-carious… · 1 year Secondary caries and marginal adaptation of ion-releasing versus resin composite restorations: a systematic… (2022) | RD 0.01 [-0.02, 0.03] | 9 studies · 1386 participants | Low |
Pulpotomy (partial or full) vs None (single-arm pooled success proportion) Clinical and radiographic success rate (>=6 months) · Human permanent teeth with irreversible pulpitis and closed (mature) root apex due to carious pulp exposure · >=6 months, Closed (mature) root apex Outcome of pulpotomy in permanent teeth with irreversible pulpitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. (2022) | Proportion 0.83 [0.69, 0.91] | 8 studies | Ungraded |
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 (usual care, no intervention, or comparison group) Caries experience at the tooth level (dmft) · Children (mean age newborn to ~5.2 years) and their parents/carers · Comprehensive intervention (vs oral health education only) The effectiveness of behaviour change interventions delivered by non-dental health workers in promoting… (2022) | SMD -0.47 [-0.84, -0.10] | 4 studies | Ungraded |
Visual or visual-tactile classification (e.g., ICDAS, ERK) vs Reference standard (histology, operative excavation, or enhanced visual examination) Specificity for detecting enamel caries · Asymptomatic children or adults suspected of enamel caries (clinical studies); extracted teeth (in vitro studies) · Analysis 1: fully within-person comparison (studies evaluating >=3 index tests) Enamel Caries Detection and Diagnosis: An Analysis of Systematic Reviews. (2022) | Specificity 0.85 [0.74, 0.93] | 19 studies · 2849 participants | Ungraded |
Ion-releasing restoration, glass ionomer-based (conventional GIC, HV-GIC, RMGIC, glass hybrid) vs Resin composite restoration Secondary caries (caries around restorations), all cavity types · Patients with permanent dentition in need of restorations (all cavity types: Black's Class I, II, V, and non-carious… · 1 year Secondary caries and marginal adaptation of ion-releasing versus resin composite restorations: a systematic… (2022) | RD -0.00 [-0.01, 0.01] | 12 studies · 1677 participants | Low |
Composite resin with beveled cavity margin vs Composite resin without beveled cavity margin Restoration failure · Children with carious primary teeth · 1.5 years, Class I Clinical effectiveness of restorative materials for the restoration of carious primary teeth without pulp… (2022) | Annual failure rate (%) bevel 1.8%; no bevel 3.5% | 1 study · 32 participants | Ungraded |