Oral health-related quality of life · people aged 60 years and older living in the community
No statistically significant difference in OHRQoL was reported by periodontal-disease prevalence.
1 finding from 1 review
Prevalence (detection frequency) of S. mutans in plaque · Systemically healthy individuals (children and adults, aged 40 months to 50 years) assessed for dental caries
S. mutans prevalence in plaque is significantly higher in caries-active than caries-free individuals (pooled OR 2.58, 95% CI 1.65 to 4.02; I2=16%); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Increased salivary pH · children aged 6‐12 years
Postbiotic toothpaste raises salivary pH in one pediatric RCT (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Probing pocket depth · Individuals assessed for periodontal health (mainly children and adolescents, age >2 years)
Persons with orofacial cleft have a greater probing pocket depth than healthy controls (MD 0.88, 95% CI 0.82 to 0.95; low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Retention [ · Children receiving dental restorations (aged 4-11 years; primary teeth; Class I/II/V cavities)
No significant difference between IRR and CR in restoration retention (high certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Proper surface texture or luster · Children receiving dental restorations (aged 4-11 years; primary teeth; Class I/II/V cavities)
No significant difference between IRR and CR in surface texture or luster (high certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Mean dmft (caries severity) · Children aged 0-5 years in North Africa
The pooled mean dmft was 2.95 (95% CI 1.86-4.67), with very high heterogeneity (I2=99.7%).
1 finding from 1 review
MEAN 2.95 [1.86, 4.67]
13 studies
GRADE not reported
Lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) · Females aged over 50 years
In females over 50, spine BMD showed an inverted U-shaped curve with a downward trend beginning at lower fluoride concentrations than in the overall analysis; no numeric MD reported in text; ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Plaque index (PI) / oral hygiene · school‐age children and adolescents
Theory-based interventions significantly reduced dental plaque (SMD -1.92; moderate certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Early childhood caries (ECC) · Children aged 0-5 years in North Africa
Weaning after 18 months was associated with higher odds of ECC (OR 2.417).
1 finding from 1 review
OR 2.417 [1.340, 4.358]
1 study
GRADE not reported
Streptococcus mutans count · Humans at risk of dental caries (children aged 6-12 years; adults with dental caries)
Postbiotic products reduce salivary S. mutans counts in human trials, though not always significantly (ungraded narrative synthesis).
1 finding from 1 review
Relative abundance of Veillonella spp. · Individuals assessed for dental caries, predominantly children with early childhood caries (ECC) or severe ECC (age about 1 to 4 years)
Evidence on whether Veillonella spp. relative abundance is higher or lower in children with dental caries than caries-free controls is inconsistent across 7 small observational studies; no pooled estimate was produced and the evidence is ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Plaque · Individuals assessed for periodontal health (mainly children and adolescents, age >2 years)
Persons with orofacial cleft have a higher plaque index than healthy controls (MD 0.29, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.34; low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Proper surface staining · Children receiving dental restorations (aged 4-11 years; primary teeth; Class I/II/V cavities)
No significant difference between IRR and CR in surface staining (moderate certainty; downgraded for inconsistency).
1 finding from 1 review
Overall success (composite of clinical and radiographic success) · Adults aged 18 years or older with mature permanent teeth and carious pulp exposure
Tri-calcium silicate use was associated with a 37% increase in partial-pulpotomy success in meta-regression.
1 finding from 1 review
Early childhood caries (ECC) · Children aged 0-5 years in North Africa
Nighttime sugary food intake was associated with higher odds of ECC (OR 1.104; source CI garbled).
1 finding from 1 review
OR 1.104 [1.167, 2.826]
1 study
GRADE not reported
Oral health-related quality of life · people aged 60 years and older living in the community
Lower country-level dental caries prevalence was associated with better OHRQoL (low-prevalence pooled mean 81.5, 95% CI 76.5 to 86.6, higher than high-prevalence countries); statistically significant (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
MEAN 81.5 [76.5, 86.6]
Studies not reported
GRADE not reported
Negative oral-health impact on daily performance (OIDP or Child-OIDP) · Adolescents (10-19 years)
For experience (history) of dental caries, adolescents had a significantly worse oral-health impact: PR 1.72 (95% CI 1.23 to 2.43) from 6 studies (I2=97%); ungraded, and not statistically different from the presence subgroup (p=0.19).
1 finding from 1 review
Impact of dental caries on the quality of life of adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. 2025 All outcomesCross-sectional (concurrent exposure and outcome); oral impacts recalled over the prior 6 months · School-based (17/20 studies), plus household and secondary-data surveys; low-, middle- and high-income countries (Brazil, Thailand, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Iran, Serbia, Nepal, India, South Africa, China) · Caries-definition subgroup: experience of dental caries
PR 1.72 [1.23, 2.43]
6 studies
GRADE not reported
Oral health-related quality of life · people aged 60 years and older living in the community
The review reported higher OHRQoL in the low than high dental-caries-prevalence category.
1 finding from 1 review
71.40 [64.16, 78.63]
Studies not reported
GRADE not reported
Salivary immunoglobulin A and pH · children aged 6 to 12 years
No meta-analysis was conducted; postbiotic toothpaste was reported to increase salivary immunoglobulin A and pH versus fluoride toothpaste.
1 finding from 1 review
no estimate extracted
1 study
GRADE not reported