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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

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

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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%

Electronic caries monitor (ECM) device (ECM II / ECM III / ECM IV) vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, or enhanced visual examination)

Sensitivity · Children, adolescents, or adults presenting asymptomatically or suspected of early enamel caries (in vivo), or extracted teeth of…
1 finding from 1 review
  • Electrical conductance for the detection of dental caries 2021 · Cochrane All outcomes
    Up to 3 months between index test and reference standard (in vivo studies)
    ECM (4 studies, 475 tooth surfaces): sensitivity ranged from 0.61 to 0.98 (0.61-0.65 in three studies; 0.98 in the most recent ECM IV study). No evidence of a difference in accuracy by device type (Chi2=0.05, df=1,…
    4 studies
    GRADE not reported

Copper nickel-titanium archwire vs Nickel-titanium 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 copper nickel-titanium archwire changes amount of crowding (Little's Irregularity Index) at 12 weeks compared with nickel-titanium archwire (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Transillumination and optical coherence tomography devices (all illumination devices combined: NIR, OCT, and FOTI/DIFOTI) vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, radiographs/microCT, or tooth separation)

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…
1 finding from 1 review

Caries severity measurement (mean dmft for primary dentition; mean DMFT for permanent dentition) vs None (descriptive prevalence review; subgroup analyses by urban/rural status, country and year)

Caries experience · Healthy children and adolescents (primary and permanent dentition) in the United Arab Emirates

Caries severity was substantial, with mean dmft 0.75-10.9 (primary dentition) and mean DMFT 1.48-3.19 (permanent dentition), and higher indices in Emirati than non-Emirati children (narrative synthesis; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Schwarz appliance vs No active treatment (control)

Amount of crowding (change in mandibular crowding) at 8 weeks · Children or adolescents (aged 16 years old or under) receiving orthodontic treatment to prevent or correct crowded teeth

It is very uncertain whether schwarz appliance changes amount of crowding (lower arch crowding, change) at 9 months compared with no active treatment (control) (very low certainty).

1 finding 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)

Diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity/specificity) for enamel caries, not meta-analyzed · Asymptomatic children, adolescents, or adults presenting for clinical examination (in vivo studies), or extracted teeth of children or…
1 finding from 1 review

Visual examination (VE) vs Histological validation (serial sectioning, grinding, hemisection, or microradiography)

Diagnostic accuracy for occlusal caries detection at the 1/3 dentin caries detection level (Ekstrand; D0-2 versus D3-4) · Extracted human permanent posterior teeth (premolars and molars), occlusal (pit-and-fissure) surfaces

In in vitro, visual examination pooled diagnostic odds ratio was 16.6 (95% CI 4.85 to 56.79) for occlusal caries at the 1/3 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)

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…
3 findings from 1 review

Conventional bitewing radiography, F-speed film vs Histological validation (serial sectioning, grinding, hemisection, or microradiography)

Diagnostic accuracy for occlusal caries detection at the dentin caries detection level (D0-2 versus D3-4) · Extracted human permanent posterior teeth (premolars and molars), occlusal (pit-and-fissure) surfaces

In in vitro, conventional bitewing radiography (F-speed) pooled specificity was 0.97 (95% CI 0.71 to 0.998) for occlusal caries at the dentin detection level; ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review
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Electrical conductance devices (electronic caries monitor (ECM) and/or CarieScan Pro), used as an adjunct to clinical oral examination vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, or enhanced visual examination)

Specificity for detection of enamel caries · Children, adolescents, or adults presenting asymptomatically or suspected of early enamel caries (in vivo), or extracted teeth of…
1 finding from 1 review
  • Electrical conductance for the detection of dental caries 2021 · Cochrane All outcomes
    Up to 3 months between index test and reference standard (in vivo studies)
    SoF findings (HSROC; no summary operating point reported): 'ECM: specificity from 0.73 to 0.96 ... CarieScan Pro: specificity from 0 to 1.00'. Across all 7 studies (8 datasets), covering 719 tooth surfaces or sites (no…
    7 studies
    Very low

Conventional bitewing radiography (D-speed film) vs Histological validation (serial sectioning, grinding, hemisection, or microradiography)

Diagnostic accuracy for occlusal caries detection at the dentin caries detection level (D0-2 versus D3-4) · Extracted human permanent posterior teeth (premolars and molars), occlusal (pit-and-fissure) surfaces

In in vitro, conventional bitewing radiography (D-speed) pooled specificity was 0.73 (95% CI 0.53 to 0.87) for occlusal caries at the dentin detection level; ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review
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Fibre-optic transillumination (FOTI) vs Reference standard (histology, excavation, radiographs/microCT, or tooth separation)

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…
1 finding from 1 review

Visual examination (VE) 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, visual examination pooled summary ROC AUC was 0.59 for occlusal caries at the caries detection level; ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review
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Laser fluorescence (DIAGNOdent 2190/pen) 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 pen (2190) pooled sensitivity was 0.78 (95% CI 0.44 to 0.94) for occlusal caries at the caries detection level; ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review
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Other visual classification systems (unspecified or unique systems, e.g. Nyvad, Downer, Lussi, UniViSS) 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…
1 finding from 1 review

Visual caries detection (ICDAS visual/visual-tactile inspection) 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…
1 finding from 1 review

Nickel-titanium archwire vs Multistranded stainless steel archwire

Amount of crowding (change in mandibular crowding) at 8 weeks · Children or adolescents (aged 16 years old or under) receiving orthodontic treatment to prevent or correct crowded teeth

It is very uncertain whether nickel-titanium archwire changes amount of crowding (change in mandibular crowding) at 8 weeks compared with multistranded stainless steel archwire (very low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Oral hygiene knowledge and practices assessment vs None (descriptive prevalence review; subgroup analyses by urban/rural status, country and year)

Oral hygiene knowledge and practices · Children and adolescents in the United Arab Emirates

Oral hygiene knowledge and practices among UAE children and adolescents were generally suboptimal and variable across studies, with better practices among females (narrative synthesis; not GRADE-rated).

1 finding from 1 review

Digital bitewing radiography, sensor-based (CCD/CMOS) 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, sensor-based digital bitewing radiography had a pooled sensitivity of 0.96 (95% CI 0.91, 0.98) for proximal caries detection at the dentin detection level; ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review
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