What do systematic reviews say?

Dietary supplements (alpha lipoic acid +/- adjunctive ingredients) vs placebo

It is very uncertain whether dietary supplements (alpha lipoic acid +/- adjunctive ingredients) changes adverse effects: increase in blood pressure compared with placebo (very low certainty).

• Interventions for treating burning mouth syndrome 2016 · Cochrane All outcomes

  short-term (up to 3 months)
  RR 1.00 [0.07, 14.85]
  1 study · 38 participants
  Very low

Sulodexide (heparin plus dermatan sulphate chains) vs prednisone

• Systemic interventions for recurrent aphthous stomatitis (mouth ulcers) 2012 · Cochrane All outcomes
  A comparison between sulodexide (n=10) and prednisone (n=10) was made in a trial at high risk of bias (Femiano 2003). Data presented as ranges/totals only with no estimate of variability, precluding further analysis.…
  1 study · 20 participants
  GRADE not reported

Colchicine (0.5 mg per day for 3 months) vs prednisolone

Colchicine (0.5 mg per day for 3 months) showed no clear difference in pain at completion of treatment compared with prednisolone (5 mg per day for 3 months); GRADE not reported.

• Systemic interventions for recurrent aphthous stomatitis (mouth ulcers) 2012 · Cochrane All outcomes

  3 months
  MD -0.16 [-1.18, 0.86]
  1 study · 34 participants
  GRADE not reported

Sulodexide (heparin plus dermatan sulphate chains) vs prednisone

• Systemic interventions for recurrent aphthous stomatitis (mouth ulcers) 2012 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Sulodexide was without significant adverse events; one significant adverse event (gastritis) was reported for the prednisone group.
  1 study · 20 participants
  GRADE not reported

Colchicine (0.5 mg per day for 3 months) vs prednisolone

Colchicine (0.5 mg per day for 3 months) showed no clear difference in number of aphthous ulcers at completion compared with prednisolone (5 mg per day for 3 months); GRADE not reported.

• Systemic interventions for recurrent aphthous stomatitis (mouth ulcers) 2012 · Cochrane All outcomes

  3 months
  MD -0.13 [-0.50, 0.24]
  1 study · 34 participants
  GRADE not reported

Colchicine (0.5 mg per day for 3 months) vs prednisolone

• Systemic interventions for recurrent aphthous stomatitis (mouth ulcers) 2012 · Cochrane All outcomes

  3 months
  Colchicine was associated with statistically significantly more adverse effects than prednisolone (nine participants reporting adverse effects on colchicine versus two on prednisolone).
  1 study · 34 participants
  GRADE not reported

Colchicine (0.5 mg per day for 3 months) vs prednisolone

Colchicine (0.5 mg per day for 3 months) showed no clear difference in recurrence during treatment period compared with prednisolone (5 mg per day for 3 months); GRADE not reported.

• Systemic interventions for recurrent aphthous stomatitis (mouth ulcers) 2012 · Cochrane All outcomes

  3 months
  RR 1.30 [0.98, 1.71]
  1 study · 34 participants
  GRADE not reported

Saliva stimulant lozenge (sorbitol, Sorbee) vs Saliva substitute spray

Saliva stimulant lozenge (sorbitol, Sorbee) led to lower patient preference compared with saliva substitute spray (MouthKote); GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Stewart 1998: no statistically significant difference in patient preference between lozenge and spray (Analysis 2.3).
  1 study · 80 participants
  GRADE not reported

Consumption of xylitol chewing gum by women (mothers) vs Profylin lozenge (xylitol/sorbitol + CMC)

• Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Patients ranked gum and lozenge equal for preference.
  1 study · 18 participants
  GRADE not reported

CMC spray / aloe vera gel / canola oil spray vs Mucin spray (and between each other)

• Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No significant difference in patient preference between the treatments (Chi2 3.67, df=3; P = 0.30).
  1 study · 123 participants
  GRADE not reported

Intraoral device releasing Biotene Oral Balance gel vs usual care without an aid

• Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
  More participants preferred the intraoral device (66%) compared with usual care; data not suitable for meta-analysis.
  1 study · 30 participants
  GRADE not reported

Mucin-containing lozenge vs placebo control

• Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Patient preference strongly favoured the mucin lozenge (P < 0.001, binomial test).
  1 study · 42 participants
  GRADE not reported

Chewing gum vs Saliva substitute spray

Chewing gum (mechanical saliva stimulant) led to lower patient preference compared with saliva substitute spray; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Bots 2005: statistically significant preference for chewing gum over Xialine spray, 39/49 (80%) preferred gum vs 10/49 (20%) spray (Chi2 17.16, df=1; P < 0.001) (Analysis 2.3). Davies 2000: more people preferred gum,…
  1 study · 65 participants
  GRADE not reported

Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) spray vs Salinum linseed oil spray

• Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Statistically significant preference for linseed spray: of 17 with a preference, more favoured linseed (Chi2 4.77, df=1; P = 0.029); 3 expressed no preference.
  1 study · 20 participants
  GRADE not reported

Carbopol (polyacrylic acid/acetate) spray vs Placebo spray

• Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Patient preference for active sprays vs placebo nearly attained significance (Chi2 7.259, df=3; P = 0.064); 15/43 participants expressed no desire to continue any spray after the trial.
  1 study · 43 participants
  GRADE not reported

Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) spray vs Placebo (spray base without CMC / water)

• Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Patient preference evenly split between CMC spray and spray base.
  1 study · 15 participants
  GRADE not reported

V6 chewing gum / mucin chewing gum vs Placebo chewing gum

• Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Preference favoured mucin gum (61%) over V6 (21%) and placebo (5%).
  1 study · 43 participants
  GRADE not reported

Minimal incision palatopharyngoplasty (MIPP) vs MIPP with additional individualised velopharyngeal surgery (pharyngeal flap or sphincter pharyngoplasty)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for the management of submucous cleft palate 2008 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Nasalance score by nasometry and pressure-flow measure: the single included trial (Ysunza 2001) provided no data for this outcome.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Tongue scraper or tongue cleaner (One Drop Only tongue cleaner; Tongue-Putzer scraper; polystyrene scraper) vs Toothbrush (used to clean the tongue)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Tongue scraping for treating halitosis 2006 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Minimum 4 weeks (planned)
  Neither of the two included trials provided any self expressed (perceived) or organoleptic (human nose) assessments of halitosis (the review's primary outcomes); no data.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Brush biopsy (oral cytology) vs Surgical or punch biopsy with histological assessment

• Diagnostic tests for oral cancer and potentially malignant disorders in patients presenting with clinically evident… 2021 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Sensitivity 0.90 [0.82, 0.94]
  20 studies
  Moderate