Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

2,556 questions · 2,794 findings · 119 reviews · Oral Health

No studies found 489 · 17.5%GRADE not reported 1,719 · 61.5%Very low 399 · 14.3%Low 128 · 4.6%Moderate 58 · 2.1%High 1 · 0%

Any intervention to manage relapse: fixed options (labial braces, lingual braces, fixed lingual wire) or removable options (Hawley's retainer with spring elastomeric module, Bloore removable aligner, other Hawley's retainer modifications, Invisalign, Clearstep) vs no intervention or another intervention

Assessment of the alignment of the lower front teeth using any method or index · Participants who previously underwent orthodontic treatment, with subsequent crowding (relapse) of the lower front teeth (lower incisors…

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Systemic antibiotics without surgical intervention (with or without analgesics) vs Matched placebo without surgical intervention (with or without analgesics)

Outcome not reported · Adults with symptomatic apical periodontitis or acute apical abscess

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Hope-based intervention vs Pain education

Patient‐reported pain intensity or pain relief (VAS, NRS or categorical scale) · People aged 12 years and over with painful TMD lasting 3 months or longer

Hope-based intervention showed no clear difference in pain intensity compared with pain education; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Gamified oral health interventions (mobile apps, serious games, augmented reality, game-based education) vs Non-digital gamified oral health interventions (card/board games, storytelling, printed aids)

Long-term behavior change and overall oral health outcomes · Children or adolescents

Digital gamified interventions appear more effective than non-digital alternatives for long-term behavior change and oral health outcomes, but the evidence is narrative and ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review
  • The Application of Gamification in Children's Oral Health Management: Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes
    Long-term follow-up (sustained behavior change) · Schools, dental clinics, and mobile-app user-testing environments
    Digital-based interventions were more effective in fostering long-term behavior change compared with nondigital alternatives and consistently outperformed nondigital alternatives in improving oral health outcomes;…
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Gamified oral health interventions (mobile apps, serious games, augmented reality, game-based education) vs Conventional or traditional oral health education, or non-gamified interventions (comparator varied; several studies were single-arm/uncontrolled)

Adherence to oral hygiene routines by people with ID or their carers · Children or adolescents

Gamified interventions appear to increase children's engagement and adherence to oral hygiene routines, but the evidence is narrative and ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review
  • The Application of Gamification in Children's Oral Health Management: Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes
    Post-intervention (predominantly short-term; long-term follow-up in a minority of studies) · School-based settings, specialized dental clinics, and home-based environments
    The regular use rate was significantly higher (72.4%) in the gamified mobile health app group than in the nongamified intervention group (48.3%) [Zolfaghari 2021]; quiz-based challenges in mobile apps encouraged higher…
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Gamified oral health interventions (mobile apps, serious games, augmented reality, game-based education) vs Conventional or traditional oral health education, or non-gamified interventions (comparator varied; several studies were single-arm/uncontrolled)

Plaque index (PI) / oral hygiene · Children or adolescents

Gamified interventions appear to improve plaque control and oral hygiene status in children versus conventional methods, but the evidence is narrative and ungraded (individual-study P values only).

1 finding from 1 review
  • The Application of Gamification in Children's Oral Health Management: Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes
    Post-intervention (predominantly short-term; long-term follow-up in a minority of studies) · School-based settings, specialized dental clinics, and home-based environments
    In the gamified mobile health app group, plaque control was superior (P<.05) compared with the conventional method group [Zolfaghari 2021]; a gamified/reminder sticker-book group showed a significant improvement in…
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Gamified oral health interventions (mobile apps, serious games, augmented reality, game-based education) vs Conventional or traditional oral health education, or non-gamified interventions (comparator varied; several studies were single-arm/uncontrolled)

Oral health knowledge (1-9 scale) · Children or adolescents

Gamified interventions appear to improve children's oral health knowledge compared with conventional education, but the evidence is narrative and ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review
  • The Application of Gamification in Children's Oral Health Management: Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes
    Post-intervention (predominantly short-term; long-term follow-up in a minority of studies) · School-based settings, specialized dental clinics, and home-based environments
    The effectiveness of digital-based interventions was generally positive, with 38% (9/24) of the experimental studies reporting improvements in oral health knowledge and behaviors; game-based teaching significantly…
    9 studies
    GRADE not reported

Gamified oral health interventions (mobile apps, serious games, augmented reality, game-based education) vs Conventional or traditional oral health education, or non-gamified interventions (comparator varied; several studies were single-arm/uncontrolled)

Oral hygiene behavior (brushing habits, preventive dental visits, dietary choices) · Children or adolescents

Gamified interventions appear to improve oral hygiene behaviors (brushing habits, preventive dental visits) in children, but the evidence is narrative and ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review
  • The Application of Gamification in Children's Oral Health Management: Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes
    Post-intervention (predominantly short-term; long-term follow-up in a minority of studies) · School-based settings, specialized dental clinics, and home-based environments
    A gesture-based motion-capture game enhanced brushing independence and skill retention (P<.001) [Kang 2021]; 58.8% of caregivers reported their children brushed more often when using gamified applications [France…
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Any experimental intervention (surgical or non-surgical) vs None (placebo or no treatment)

Improvement in nutritional intake · People of any age and either sex, in any setting, with BRONJ; bisphosphonate exposure past or current; includes people with cancer and…

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Any experimental intervention (surgical or non-surgical) vs active control

Healing of osteonecrosis - improvement ('healed' or 'improved' vs 'unchanged' or 'worse') · People of any age and either sex, in any setting, with BRONJ; bisphosphonate exposure past or current; includes people with cancer and…

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Any experimental intervention (surgical or non-surgical) vs None (placebo or no treatment)

Improvement of pre-existing accompanying symptoms other than pain · People of any age and either sex, in any setting, with BRONJ; bisphosphonate exposure past or current; includes people with cancer and…

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Any experimental intervention (surgical or non-surgical) vs None (placebo or no treatment)

Mortality rate and cause of death · People of any age and either sex, in any setting, with BRONJ; bisphosphonate exposure past or current; includes people with cancer and…

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Any experimental intervention (surgical or non-surgical) vs None (placebo or no treatment)

Healing of osteonecrosis - improvement ('healed' or 'improved' vs 'unchanged' or 'worse') · People of any age and either sex, in any setting, with BRONJ; bisphosphonate exposure past or current; includes people with cancer and…

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Psychological interventions (positive and negative reinforcement) vs no treatment

Sucking cessation (long term) · Children with a non-nutritive sucking habit (digit or pacifier)

Psychological interventions (positive and negative reinforcement) led to higher sucking cessation (long term) compared with no treatment; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Topical interventions (sucralfate, interferon-alpha, cyclosporin A) vs placebo

Episode frequency associated with oral ulcers · People with Behcet's disease with a history of recurrent oral aphthous-type (RAS-type) ulcers diagnosed clinically; primary care
1 finding from 1 review
  • SoF (topical interventions vs placebo), grouped comment spanning all four listed outcomes (verbatim): "5 placebo-controlled trials evaluated topical interventions (sucralfate suspension (2 trials), interferon-alpha (2…
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported

Topical interventions (sucralfate, interferon-alpha, cyclosporin A) vs placebo

Pain associated with oral ulcers · People with Behcet's disease with a history of recurrent oral aphthous-type (RAS-type) ulcers diagnosed clinically; primary care
1 finding from 1 review
  • SoF (topical interventions vs placebo), grouped comment spanning all four listed outcomes (verbatim): "5 placebo-controlled trials evaluated topical interventions (sucralfate suspension (2 trials), interferon-alpha (2…
    Studies not reported
    GRADE not reported