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Each row is one question a systematic review asked: who, what, compared with what, and which outcome, with the effect it found and how certain that is. Words match anywhere in the field.
5,762 questions in 263 reviews · Dental caries
current versionsNo studies 321 · 5.6%Ungraded 4,450 · 77.2%Very low 455 · 7.9%Low 297 · 5.2%Moderate 200 · 3.5%High 39 · 0.7%
Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.
| Question | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
HDI (quantitative) vs Populations in countries with a higher Human Development Index (very high, HDI >=0.800) Association with dental caries experience (DMFT) by random-effects meta-regression · Adults aged 19-60 years · Adjusted (Model 1) Socioeconomic Factors and Caries in People between 19 and 60 Years of Age: An Update of a Systematic Review… (2018) | Meta-regression coefficient -42.94101 | NR | Ungraded |
Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) vs Gutta-percha / AH-Plus Outcome NR · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | Listed as a pulpectomy comparison; no extractable outcome data reported in this version | 0 studies | No studies |
Biodentine vs Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) Radiological failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 6 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | RR 2.40 [0.65, 8.84] | 4 studies · 234 participants | Low |
Silver diamine fluoride twice annually vs Other network treatments Caries lesion arrestment · Primary teeth with dentin caries lesions on occlusal and smooth surfaces · Various follow-up times, Occlusal and smooth surfaces Scientific evidence for the management of dentin caries lesions in pediatric dentistry: A systematic review… (2018) | RANK 1 | 3 studies | Moderate |
Extraction of a maxillary first permanent molar vs Extraction of a mandibular first permanent molar Spontaneous post-extraction space closure · Children aged 5 to 15 years undergoing first permanent molar extraction · Maxilla versus mandible (spontaneous space closure) Consequences of early extraction of compromised first permanent molar: a systematic review. (2018) | OR 2.06 [0.46, 9.28] | 3 studies · 107 participants | Ungraded |
Full strength formocresol (FC) vs 1:5 diluted formocresol (FC) Radiological failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 6 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | No event in any participant; not estimable | 1 study · 30 participants | Ungraded |
Radiographic caries detection (bitewing radiography) vs Reference standard (histological validation or cavity/lesion opening; advanced = cavitated/dentin-involved lesions, all = enamel-confined initial lesions also counted) Specificity for detecting advanced occlusal caries · Occlusal surfaces of permanent molars (demonstrated in 12-14 year-olds; underlying diagnostic accuracy studies, mostly… · Tailored to Germany Visual and radiographic caries detection: a tailored meta-analysis for two different settings, Egypt and… (2018) | Specificity 91.4 [88, 94] | 36 studies | Ungraded |
Slow-release fluoride devices vs Alternative fluoride therapy (topical fluoride: toothpaste, mouthrinse, gel, or varnish) Outcome NR · Children or adults Slow‐release fluoride devices for the control of dental decay (2018) · Cochrane | We found no studies comparing a slow-release fluoride device versus alternative fluoride therapy | 0 studies | No studies |
Post-secondary education vs University education Prevalence of fair/poor self-rated oral health · Adults aged 25 years and older in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States · 2007-2009, Canada Socioeconomic status, oral health and dental disease in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. (2018) | AD 2.4 [-1.3, 6.1] | 1 study · 3278 participants | Ungraded |
Primary education vs University education Prevalence of fair/poor self-rated oral health · Adults aged 25 years and older in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States · 2003-2004, United States Socioeconomic status, oral health and dental disease in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. (2018) | AD 40.35 [35.19, 45.51] | 1 study · 4568 participants | Ungraded |
Medium income vs High income Mean number of decayed teeth (mean DT) · Adults aged 25 years and older in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States · 2003-2004, United States Socioeconomic status, oral health and dental disease in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. (2018) | AD 0.1 [-0.1, 0.2] | 1 study · 4568 participants | Ungraded |
3Mixtatin vs Simvastatin Clinical failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 12 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | RR 0.25 [0.08, 0.82] | 1 study · 160 participants | Low |
Populations with a lower proportion of university-educated people (<33.78% with university level) vs Populations with a higher proportion of university-educated people (>=33.78% with university level) Dental caries experience (DMFT) · Adults aged 19-60 years · Low university (<33.78%) Socioeconomic Factors and Caries in People between 19 and 60 Years of Age: An Update of a Systematic Review… (2018) | MEAN 10.62 [7.30, 13.93] | 9 studies | Ungraded |
Metapex (calcium hydroxide/iodoform) vs Endoflas (CH + ZOE + iodoform) Radiological failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 6 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | RR 2.02 [0.79, 5.15] | 2 studies · 92 participants | Ungraded |
3Mix (ciprofloxacin + metronidazole + minocycline) vs Simvastatin Radiological failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 12 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | No radiological failure in any participant; not estimable | 1 study · 160 participants | Ungraded |
Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) vs Enamel matrix derivative (EMD) Radiological failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 24 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | RR 0.29 [0.06, 1.28] | 1 study · 70 participants | Ungraded |
Visual caries detection (ICDAS visual/visual-tactile inspection) vs Reference standard (histological validation or cavity/lesion opening; advanced = cavitated/dentin-involved lesions, all = enamel-confined initial lesions also counted) Negative LR for detecting advanced occlusal caries · Occlusal surfaces of permanent molars (demonstrated in 12-14 year-olds; underlying diagnostic accuracy studies, mostly… · Tailored to Germany Visual and radiographic caries detection: a tailored meta-analysis for two different settings, Egypt and… (2018) | Negative LR 0.58 [0.5, 0.7] | 50 studies | Ungraded |
Artemether vs Quinine Death · Patients with severe malaria · Average age (years), NMR covariate Graphs of study contributions and covariate distributions for network meta-regression. (2018) | no estimate extracted | NR | Ungraded |
Electrosurgery vs Formocresol (FC) Radiological failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 9 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | RR 5.00 [0.62, 40.64] | 1 study · 70 participants | Ungraded |
Bilateral extraction of compromised mandibular first permanent molars vs Age- and gender-matched non-extraction controls Skeletal development (occlusal plane rotation, facial height) · Children (approximately 11 years or older) with compromised mandibular first permanent molars Consequences of early extraction of compromised first permanent molar: a systematic review. (2018) | Normando and Cavacami: decreased GnSN angle (P = 0.05), counter-clockwise rotation of the occlusal plane (mean 5.6 vs 12.6 degrees, P = 0.0001), and decreased lower anterior face height (P = 0.048). Table 3: Category… | 1 study | Ungraded |
Glutaraldehyde + calcium hydroxide (CH) vs Glutaraldehyde + zinc oxide and eugenol (ZOE) Clinical failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 12 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | RR 2.90 [0.32, 26.38] | 1 study · 61 participants | Ungraded |
Post-secondary education vs University education Prevalence of untreated decay (% DT > 0) · Adults aged 25 years and older in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States · 2003-2004, United States Socioeconomic status, oral health and dental disease in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. (2018) | AD 7.7 [3.6, 11.8] | 1 study · 4568 participants | Ungraded |
Calcium hydroxide (CH) vs Ferric sulphate (FS) Radiological failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 12 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | RR 1.28 [0.53, 3.13] | 2 studies · 122 participants | Low |
Self-etch adhesive + acetone-based total-etch adhesive vs Calcium hydroxide (CH) Radiological failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 12 and 24 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | RR 3.00 [0.13, 69.52] | 1 study · 40 participants | Very low |
Low income vs High income Prevalence of fair/poor self-rated oral health · Adults aged 25 years and older in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States · 2003-2009, Overall random-effects meta-analysis Socioeconomic status, oral health and dental disease in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. (2018) | AD 15.77 [12.77, 18.77] | 4 studies · 14960 participants | Ungraded |
Primary education vs University education Mean number of decayed teeth (mean DT) · Adults aged 25 years and older in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States · 2007-2009, Canada Socioeconomic status, oral health and dental disease in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. (2018) | AD 0.69 [0.43, 0.94] | 1 study · 3278 participants | Ungraded |
Secondary education vs University education Prevalence of untreated decay (% DT > 0) · Adults aged 25 years and older in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States · 2003-2004, United States Socioeconomic status, oral health and dental disease in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. (2018) | AD 10.4 [4.7, 16.2] | 1 study · 4568 participants | Ungraded |
Post-secondary education vs University education Mean number of decayed teeth (mean DT) · Adults aged 25 years and older in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States · 2009, New Zealand Socioeconomic status, oral health and dental disease in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. (2018) | AD 0.5 [0.2, 0.8] | 1 study · 2041 participants | Ungraded |
Low polymerization shrinkage resin composite (silorane, ormocer, bulk-fill or other modified-monomer composite) vs Conventional methacrylate-based resin composite Marginal adaptation (clinically detectable deterioration) · People with permanent posterior teeth restored with class I or II direct restorations · 36 months Meta-analysis of the clinical behavior of posterior direct resin restorations: Low polymerization shrinkage… (2018) | Five articles (six experimental groups) evaluated marginal adaptation after 36 months; results were mixed and the overall meta-analytic effect was not statistically significant. | 5 studies | Ungraded |
Radiographic caries detection (bitewing radiography) vs Reference standard (histological validation or cavity/lesion opening; advanced = cavitated/dentin-involved lesions, all = enamel-confined initial lesions also counted) Specificity for detecting all (initial and advanced) occlusal caries · Occlusal surfaces of permanent molars (demonstrated in 12-14 year-olds; underlying diagnostic accuracy studies, mostly… · Tailored to Germany Visual and radiographic caries detection: a tailored meta-analysis for two different settings, Egypt and… (2018) | Specificity 84.8 [77, 90] | 9 studies | Ungraded |
Zinc oxide and eugenol (ZOE) vs Ozonated sesame oil-zinc oxide (ZO) Outcome NR · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | Listed as a pulpectomy comparison; no extractable outcome data reported in this version | 0 studies | No studies |
Diode laser vs Ferric sulphate (FS) Radiological failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 6 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | RR 0.89 [0.38, 2.12] | 3 studies · 130 participants | Low |
Radiographic caries detection (bitewing radiography) vs Reference standard (histological validation or cavity/lesion opening; advanced = cavitated/dentin-involved lesions, all = enamel-confined initial lesions also counted) Specificity for detecting all (initial and advanced) proximal caries · Proximal surfaces of permanent molars (demonstrated in 12-14 year-olds; underlying diagnostic accuracy studies, mostly… · Tailored to Germany Visual and radiographic caries detection: a tailored meta-analysis for two different settings, Egypt and… (2018) | Specificity 91.7 [90, 93] | 34 studies | Ungraded |
Electrosurgery vs Ferric sulphate (FS) Clinical failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 6 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | RR 0.56 [0.13, 2.34] | 2 studies · 50 participants | Low |
Vitapex (calcium hydroxide/iodoform) vs Calcium hydroxide (CH) Radiological failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 6 and 12 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | RR 0.11 [0.01, 1.94] | 1 study · 40 participants | Ungraded |
Low polymerization shrinkage resin composite (silorane, ormocer, bulk-fill or other modified-monomer composite) vs Conventional methacrylate-based resin composite Secondary caries · People with permanent posterior teeth restored with class I or II direct restorations · 24 months Meta-analysis of the clinical behavior of posterior direct resin restorations: Low polymerization shrinkage… (2018) | After 24 months, seven articles evaluated secondary caries, but none reported any secondary caries in either group; a meta-analysis was therefore not conducted. | 7 studies | Ungraded |
Medium income vs High income Prevalence of untreated decay (% DT > 0) · Adults aged 25 years and older in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States · 2009, New Zealand Socioeconomic status, oral health and dental disease in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. (2018) | AD 14.3 [5.4, 23.3] | 1 study · 2041 participants | Ungraded |
Tempophore vs Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) Radiological failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 12 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | RR 2.69 [0.57, 12.70] | 1 study · 56 participants | Ungraded |
Radiographic caries detection (bitewing radiography) vs Reference standard (histological validation or cavity/lesion opening; advanced = cavitated/dentin-involved lesions, all = enamel-confined initial lesions also counted) Positive LR for detecting advanced occlusal caries · Occlusal surfaces of permanent molars (demonstrated in 12-14 year-olds; underlying diagnostic accuracy studies, mostly… · Tailored to Germany Visual and radiographic caries detection: a tailored meta-analysis for two different settings, Egypt and… (2018) | Positive LR 5.87 [4.3, 8.0] | 36 studies | Ungraded |
ProRoot MTA vs OrthoMTA Radiological failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 12 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | RR 0.50 [0.05, 5.33] | 1 study · 94 participants | Ungraded |
Artesunate vs Quinine Death · Patients with severe malaria · Average age (years), NMR covariate Graphs of study contributions and covariate distributions for network meta-regression. (2018) | no estimate extracted | NR | Ungraded |
Radiographic caries detection (bitewing radiography) vs Reference standard (histological validation or cavity/lesion opening; advanced = cavitated/dentin-involved lesions, all = enamel-confined initial lesions also counted) Negative LR for detecting advanced occlusal caries · Occlusal surfaces of permanent molars (demonstrated in 12-14 year-olds; underlying diagnostic accuracy studies, mostly… · Tailored to Egypt Visual and radiographic caries detection: a tailored meta-analysis for two different settings, Egypt and… (2018) | Negative LR 0.51 [0.44, 0.6] | 38 studies | Ungraded |
Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) + calcium hydroxide vs Calcium hydroxide (CH) Clinical failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 6 and 12 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | No clinical failure in any participant (Fernandes 2015); not estimable | 1 study · 30 participants | Ungraded |
Visual caries detection vs Reference standard (often histological; also invasive opening) Advanced occlusal carious lesions · Permanent molar surfaces in diagnostic accuracy studies (mostly in vitro; clinical) · Tailored meta-analysis (Egypt) Visual and radiographic caries detection: a tailored meta-analysis for two different settings, Egypt and… (2018) | Specificity 84.9 [82, 89] | 55 studies | Ungraded |
Calcium hydroxide (CH) vs Formocresol (FC) Clinical failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 12 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | RR 1.87 [1.22, 2.89] | 6 studies · 332 participants | Moderate |
Radiographic caries detection (bitewing radiography) vs Reference standard (histological validation or cavity/lesion opening; advanced = cavitated/dentin-involved lesions, all = enamel-confined initial lesions also counted) Positive LR for detecting all (initial and advanced) proximal caries · Proximal surfaces of permanent molars (demonstrated in 12-14 year-olds; underlying diagnostic accuracy studies, mostly… · Conventional meta-analysis (all studies) Visual and radiographic caries detection: a tailored meta-analysis for two different settings, Egypt and… (2018) | Positive LR 4.3 [3.4, 5.5] | 38 studies | Ungraded |
Primary education vs University education Mean number of decayed teeth (mean DT) · Adults aged 25 years and older in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States · 2003-2009, Overall random-effects meta-analysis Socioeconomic status, oral health and dental disease in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. (2018) | AD 0.58 [0.43, 0.74] | 4 studies · 14960 participants | Ungraded |
Visual caries detection (ICDAS visual/visual-tactile inspection) vs Reference standard (histological validation or cavity/lesion opening; advanced = cavitated/dentin-involved lesions, all = enamel-confined initial lesions also counted) NPV for detecting all (initial and advanced) occlusal caries · Occlusal surfaces of permanent molars (demonstrated in 12-14 year-olds; underlying diagnostic accuracy studies, mostly… · Tailored to Egypt Visual and radiographic caries detection: a tailored meta-analysis for two different settings, Egypt and… (2018) | NPV 97.4 | 51 studies | Ungraded |
Portland cement (PC) vs Enamel matrix derivative (EMD) Radiological failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 24 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | RR 0.57 [0.18, 1.78] | 1 study · 70 participants | Ungraded |
Diode laser vs Ferric sulphate (FS) Clinical failure · Children with extensive decay involving the dental pulp in primary teeth · 6 months Pulp treatment for extensive decay in primary teeth (2018) · Cochrane | RR 0.23 [0.04, 1.30] | 3 studies · 130 participants | Low |