Annual increment in DMFS (D3) · Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)
Oral-health-education interventions significantly reduced net increment in DMFS (SMD -1.05); no significant subgroup difference vs other interventions (P=0.74).
5 findings from 1 review
Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and middle-income… 2022 All outcomesPost-intervention; follow-up varied across studies (interventions ranged from <2 years to >=2 years and longer) · Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean) · Intervention type: oral health education
SMD -1.05 [-2.03, -0.08]
3 studies
GRADE not reported
Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and middle-income… 2022 All outcomesPost-intervention; follow-up varied across studies (interventions ranged from <2 years to >=2 years and longer) · Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean) · WHO health-promoting-schools framework
SMD -0.57 [-1.56, 0.42]
2 studies
GRADE not reported
Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and middle-income… 2022 All outcomesPost-intervention; follow-up varied across studies (interventions ranged from <2 years to >=2 years and longer) · Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean) · Non-WHO-framework interventions
SMD -1.88 [-3.15, -0.60]
Studies not reported
GRADE not reported
Show 2 more findings
Recurrent oral ulcerations (WHO clinical stage 2) · Children or adolescents
CLWH on ART had significantly higher prevalence of recurrent oral ulcerations than healthy controls (pooled OR 6.83, 95% CI 1.18 to 39.53).
1 finding from 1 review
Restoration failure · Children with carious primary teeth
No comparative effect estimate was reported; the 7-second etching arm had a lower tabulated failure rate.
1 finding from 1 review
Caries distribution (individual/tooth/surface level) · European adolescents aged 12–19 years
Caries distribution was skewed at individual, tooth and surface levels and too heterogeneous to meta-analyze (narrative synthesis of 11 studies; not GRADE-rated).
1 finding from 1 review
No meta-analysis possible; caries distribution reported narratively from 11 studies as skewed at individual, tooth and surface levels, changing with age at tooth and surface level (Results – Caries distribution).
11 studies
GRADE not reported
Periodontal disease (gingivitis/periodontitis) · Children or adolescents
CLWH on ART had significantly higher prevalence of periodontal disease than healthy controls (pooled OR 3.11, 95% CI 1.62 to 5.97; moderate heterogeneity).
1 finding from 1 review
Oral candidiasis prevalence · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH)
Oral candidiasis prevalence fell significantly after cART compared with before cART in the same children (very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Intervention not reported
Food purchasing
1 finding from 1 review
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)
School-based interventions may reduce the prevalence of dental caries (RR 0.70, favouring intervention), but the certainty of evidence is very low.
3 findings from 1 review
Dental caries · Children (deciduous and/or permanent dentition) in low- and middle-income countries
High SES showed no significant association with dental caries (OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.31; 5 studies; not GRADE-rated).
2 findings from 1 review
Caries experience · European adolescents aged 13 years
Pooled caries experience was 1.45.
1 finding from 1 review
Dental caries prevalence · European adolescents aged 17 years
Pooled caries prevalence was 0.83 (I² = 87.2%).
1 finding from 1 review
Overall success (composite of clinical and radiographic success) · Human permanent teeth with irreversible pulpitis due to carious pulp exposure
Biodentine had a significantly higher pulpotomy success rate than calcium hydroxide (indirect comparison; numeric estimate not available); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Caries increment in permanent teeth · School children and adolescents (6-18 years) followed from primary dentition (baseline examination before 72 months of age)
Evidence on the association between sociodemographic/socioeconomic factors and permanent-teeth caries is weak and inconsistent (3 studies; could not be pooled; not GRADE-rated).
1 finding from 1 review
Treatment failure (annual failure rate) · Children with previously unrestored, vital carious lesions in primary teeth (no pulp therapy); aged 1.5-11 years
High-viscosity GIC had a wide annual failure rate (2.9-25.6%) and was outperformed by compomer/composite in some trials (3 RCTs); low quality of evidence (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Intervention not reported
Difference in summary specificity (NMA, Analysis 2)
1 finding from 1 review
Care index (CI = f/[d+m+f]) in the primary dentition · Children in the primary dentition with non-syndromic cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) and comparable children without CL/P
The care index tended to be higher in children without CL/P (2 of 3 studies), suggesting more extraction-based caries management in children with CL/P; not pooled (narrative; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Intervention not reported
Pain during treatment
1 finding from 1 review
Intervention not reported
Difference in summary sensitivity (NMA, Analysis 2)
1 finding from 1 review
Sensitivity for detection of enamel caries · Asymptomatic children or adults suspected of enamel caries (clinical studies); extracted teeth (in vitro studies)
Fluorescence-based devices had a summary sensitivity of 0.76 (95% CrI 0.68, 0.82) for detecting enamel caries; low certainty.
2 findings from 1 review
Contribution to total daily fluoride intake · adults
For adults in extremely fluoridated areas, the mean contribution was 3%.
1 finding from 1 review