Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

2,890 questions · 3,917 findings · 272 reviews · Oral Health

No studies found 429 · 11%GRADE not reported 2,657 · 67.8%Very low 512 · 13.1%Low 219 · 5.6%Moderate 80 · 2%High 20 · 0.5%

Composite resin 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

Composite resin (hybrid 0-19.5%; bulk-fill 0-16.9%) performed comparably to or better than most alternatives across 11 RCTs; evidence is of low to unclear quality (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Resin infiltration 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 and permanent dentition

ICON resin infiltration showed no statistically significant change in lightness/brightness of post-orthodontic white spot lesions at 6 months (pooled Cohen's d/SMD -0.001, 95% CI -0.23 to 0.23; 3 studies, 330 teeth; I2=97%); not GRADE-rated.

1 finding from 1 review

Resin infiltration vs Pre-treatment baseline before infiltration (T0); pooled as a within-arm before/after change

Color change of white spot lesion (color difference, T0 to T1) · Patients with post-orthodontic white spot lesions and permanent dentition

ICON resin infiltration significantly improved the color of post-orthodontic white spot lesions at 6 months (pooled Cohen's d/SMD 1.36, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.59; 4 studies, 458 teeth), although heterogeneity was very high (I2=98%) with a heavy outlier (Kannan); not GRADE-rated.

1 finding from 1 review

Glass carbomer restoration (placed after drilling) vs Composite resin or RMGIC

Treatment failure (annual failure rate) · Children with previously unrestored, vital carious lesions in primary teeth (no pulp therapy); aged 1.5-11 years

Glass carbomer had very high failure rates (up to 46.2%) in a single RCT, far worse than composite resin or RMGIC; low quality of evidence (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Fluoride-containing dental care products (mainly fluoride toothpaste) vs Dietary fluoride sources (drinking water, beverages, food)

Contribution of dental care products to total fluoride exposure · Pregnant and lactating women

No study has explored the contribution of dental care products to total fluoride exposure in pregnant and lactating women.

1 finding from 1 review

Amalgam vs Preformed metal crown (PMC)

Treatment failure (annual failure rate) · Children with carious primary molars treated by pulpotomy (vital pulp therapy)

Preformed metal crowns had a low annual failure rate (2.4%) in primary molars after pulpotomy, lower than amalgam in the same trial (single high-risk-of-bias RCT; low quality of evidence; not GRADE-rated).

2 findings from 1 review

Visual or visual-tactile classification systems (any system: ICDAS, ERK, Nyvad, Downer, Lussi, UniViSS, or unspecified) vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, radiographs/microCT, or tooth separation)

Specificity for detection of enamel caries · Asymptomatic children, adolescents, or adults presenting for clinical examination (in vivo studies), or extracted teeth of children or…
10 findings from 1 review
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Analogue (conventional) radiographs vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, or enhanced visual examination)

Sensitivity for detection and diagnosis of early (enamel) caries · Asymptomatic children, adolescents, or adults presenting for clinical examination (in vivo studies), or extracted teeth of children or…
1 finding from 1 review

Lacebacks with fixed appliances vs Fixed appliances

Size of the lower jaw (arch length) · Children or adolescents (aged 16 years old or under) receiving orthodontic treatment to prevent or correct crowded teeth

Lacebacks with fixed appliances showed no clear difference in size of the lower jaw (arch length) compared with fixed appliances only (control); GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Laser fluorescence (DIAGNOdent 2095) vs Histological validation (serial sectioning, grinding, hemisection, or microradiography)

Diagnostic accuracy for occlusal caries detection at the caries detection level (D0 versus D1-D4) · Extracted human permanent posterior teeth (premolars and molars), occlusal (pit-and-fissure) surfaces

In in vitro, laser fluorescence (DIAGNOdent 2095) pooled summary ROC AUC was 0.81 for occlusal caries at the caries detection level; ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review
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Schwarz appliance vs No active treatment (control)

Size of the lower jaw (arch length, change) · Children or adolescents (aged 16 years old or under) receiving orthodontic treatment to prevent or correct crowded teeth

Schwarz appliance showed no clear difference in size of the lower jaw (mandibular arch length, change) at 9 months compared with no active treatment (control); GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Radiographic imaging methods (any: analogue radiographs, digital radiographs, or CBCT) vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, or enhanced visual examination)

Sensitivity for detection and diagnosis of early (enamel) caries · Asymptomatic children, adolescents, or adults presenting for clinical examination (in vivo studies), or extracted teeth of children or…
17 findings from 1 review
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Visual or visual-tactile classification systems (any system: ICDAS, ERK, Nyvad, Downer, Lussi, UniViSS, or unspecified) vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, radiographs/microCT, or tooth separation)

Sensitivity for detection of enamel caries · Asymptomatic children, adolescents, or adults presenting for clinical examination (in vivo studies), or extracted teeth of children or…
10 findings from 1 review
Show 7 more findings

Digital bitewing radiography, phosphor plate (PSP) vs Direct visual examination after tooth separation or bioptical cavity preparation

Diagnostic accuracy for proximal caries detection (dentin detection level) · Patients with permanent posterior teeth, proximal surfaces assessed clinically (in vivo)

Under in vivo conditions, phosphor-plate digital bitewing radiography had a pooled specificity of 0.60 (95% CI 0.20, 0.90) for proximal caries detection at the dentin detection level; ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review
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Visual caries detection (ICDAS visual/visual-tactile inspection) vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, radiographs/microCT, or tooth separation)

Specificity for detection of enamel caries · Asymptomatic children, adolescents, or adults presenting for clinical examination (in vivo studies), or extracted teeth of children or…
1 finding from 1 review

Laser fluorescence (DIAGNOdent 2190/pen) vs Direct visual examination after tooth separation or bioptical cavity preparation

Diagnostic accuracy for proximal caries detection (dentin detection level) · Patients with permanent posterior teeth, proximal surfaces assessed clinically (in vivo)

Under in vivo conditions, laser fluorescence (DIAGNOdent 2190) had a pooled specificity of 0.60 (95% CI 0.15, 0.93) for proximal caries detection at the dentin detection level; ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review
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Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, or enhanced visual examination)

Specificity for detection and diagnosis of early (enamel) caries · Asymptomatic children, adolescents, or adults presenting for clinical examination (in vivo studies), or extracted teeth of children or…
3 findings from 1 review

Nitinol archwire vs Titinol archwire

Amount of crowding · Children or adolescents (aged 16 years old or under) receiving orthodontic treatment to prevent or correct crowded teeth

It is very uncertain whether nitinol archwire changes amount of crowding (change) up to 37 weeks compared with titinol archwire (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review