Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

1,692 questions · 2,586 findings · 180 reviews · Dental caries

No studies found 194 · 7.5%GRADE not reported 1,937 · 74.9%Very low 248 · 9.6%Low 136 · 5.3%Moderate 52 · 2%High 19 · 0.7%

Slum / urban-disadvantaged setting vs Non-slum urban / general-urban / national population

Dental service utilisation within the past year · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs

Past-year dental service use varies widely (4%-72%); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Slum / urban-disadvantaged setting vs Non-slum urban setting

Determinants of oral diseases · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs

Older age, lower education and income, poor oral hygiene, and disadvantaged residential setting were associated with oral diseases; directions varied across studies.

1 finding from 1 review

Slum residence vs Non-slum urban setting

Dental caries · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs

Slum residents had non-significantly higher odds of caries than non-slum residents (OR 1.21, 95% CI 0.94-1.56; single study); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs Atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) with glass ionomer cement (GIC) or glass ionomer material

Adverse effects · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
1 finding from 1 review

Er:YAG laser irradiation of sound enamel before acid challenge vs No anticaries intervention (untreated enamel)

Demineralised lesion depth · Human tooth enamel specimens, sound/intact (in vitro)

Er:YAG laser irradiation significantly reduced demineralised lesion depth versus untreated control (SMD -0.55, 95% CI -0.97 to -0.12; 3 in vitro studies, I2=62%; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Significant salivary microbial (Lactobacillus) load vs No/low significant microbial load

Dental caries · Primary school children in Ethiopia

A significant salivary microbial (Lactobacillus) load was associated with higher odds of dental caries (OR 3.82, 95% CI 3.439-4.192; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs placebo or no treatment

Caries arrest · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)

It is very uncertain whether silver diamine fluoride (SDF) changes caries arrest compared with placebo or no treatment (very low certainty).

3 findings from 1 review

SDF (given at a particular frequency, concentration, or duration) vs SDF (given at a different frequency, concentration, or duration)

Aesthetics · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
1 finding from 1 review

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) plus fluoride varnish vs Sealants plus fluoride varnish (with or without restorations)

Caries arrest · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) plus fluoride varnish showed no clear difference in caries arrest compared with sealants plus fluoride varnish (with or without restorations) (low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Slum residence vs Non-slum urban setting

Periodontal pocket (odds), slum vs non-slum residence · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs

Slum residents had significantly higher odds of periodontal pocketing than non-slum residents (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.13-1.98; single study); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Male sex vs Female sex

Dental caries susceptibility · Institutionalized orphan children (roughly 3 to 18 years)

Male institutionalized children had a marginally higher caries risk than females (RR 1.02), a non-significant difference (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs Restoration (restorative treatment)

Aesthetics · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
1 finding from 1 review

Cesarean section delivery vs Vaginal delivery

Early childhood caries (ECC) · Children with average age >3 years

No significant association between cesarean vs vaginal delivery and ECC among children with average age >3 years (OR 1.24, 95% CI 0.89-1.71).

1 finding from 1 review

Slum / urban-disadvantaged setting vs Non-slum urban / general-urban / national population

Caries experience (mean DMFT) · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs

Mean DMFT ranges from 0.26 to 16.6 across LMIC urban/slum populations; ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Slum / urban-disadvantaged setting vs Non-slum urban / general-urban / national population

Use of toothbrush and toothpaste for mouth cleaning · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs

Toothbrush/paste is the commonest cleaning method but is used less in slum/disadvantaged/rural groups than urban/non-slum groups; ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review