Dental pain or sensitivity · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
It is very uncertain whether silver diamine fluoride (SDF) changes dental pain or sensitivity compared with fluoride varnish (very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Dental caries · Primary school children in Ethiopia
A high intake of sweets was associated with higher odds of dental caries (OR 2.71, 95% CI 1.968-3.451; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
OR 2.71 [1.968, 3.451]
5 studies
GRADE not reported
Enamel surface microhardness · Human tooth enamel specimens, sound/intact (in vitro)
In sound enamel, Er:YAG laser irradiation significantly increased surface microhardness after acid challenge versus untreated control (SMD 2.41, 95% CI 0.70 to 4.12; 3 in vitro studies; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
SMD 2.41 [0.70, 4.12]
3 studies
GRADE not reported
Adverse effects · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
1 finding from 1 review
Ruff 2022 reported that there were no adverse events during the study period; adverse events were not defined by the study authors. Assumed data available for 1398 participants.
1 study · 1398 participants
Very low
Intervention not reported
Dental caries in children
The intervention led to higher dental caries in children; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
OR 1.20 [1.04, 1.36]
4 studies
GRADE not reported
Caries arrest · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
It is very uncertain whether silver diamine fluoride (SDF) changes caries arrest compared with restoration (restorative treatment) (very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Caries arrestment at the individual (patient) level · Children and adults without systemic diseases affecting dental health
SDF showed a higher caries-arrestment proportion at the individual level, but the reported difference was not statistically significant.
1 finding from 1 review
Adverse effects · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
1 finding from 1 review
Enamel resistance to demineralization (microhardness / lesion depth) · Human enamel adjacent to restorations or in pits and fissures (in situ / ex vivo)
Er:YAG laser showed a mixed and limited effect on enamel resistance to demineralization: feasible for controlling progression around restorations but not preventing caries formation, and ineffective in pits and fissures (ungraded, 2 ex-vivo studies, no pooled estimate).
1 finding from 1 review
Adverse effects · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
1 finding from 1 review
Gao 2019 noted that "arrested lesions were stained black" (reported with no associated data). No other adverse effects observed, and no reports from parents of systemic disease.
1 study · 1070 participants
Very low
Enamel demineralization (QLF ΔF) · Human enamel specimens under cariogenic challenge (in situ / ex vivo)
Evidence on a synergistic effect of combining CO2 laser with fluoride versus fluoride alone is mixed: one ex-vivo study found combined treatment superior while another found no synergy (ungraded, 2 ex-vivo studies, no pooled estimate).
1 finding from 1 review
Pattern of dental service utilisation and barriers · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs
Dental service use is low, episodic and pain-driven, with widespread self-care and cost/funding barriers; ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Utilisation was generally low, episodic and mostly problem/pain-driven (pain-driven visits ~70-99%); widespread self-care/home remedies were used as alternatives to professional care; lack of funds/cost, income, age,…
Studies not reported
GRADE not reported
Frequency of mouth cleaning · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs
Twice-daily cleaning (recommended) is uncommon; most clean once, in the morning; ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Mean DMFT (decayed, missing, filled permanent teeth) · Institutionalized orphan children (roughly 3 to 18 years)
Permanent-teeth caries experience (DMF) was marginally higher in institutionalized children but essentially similar to parented children (pooled MD 0.09, not significant; very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Oral disease burden, slum vs non-slum urban comparison · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs
Where compared, oral disease burden is generally higher in slums than non-slum urban/national populations (5 studies; 1 found no difference); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Dental pain or sensitivity · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
It is very uncertain whether silver diamine fluoride (SDF) changes dental pain or sensitivity compared with restoration (restorative treatment) (very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Early childhood caries (ECC) · Children with average age ≤3 years
No significant association between cesarean vs vaginal delivery and ECC among children with average age ≤3 years (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.67-1.10).
1 finding from 1 review
OR 0.86 [0.67, 1.10]
10 studies
GRADE not reported
Caries arrest · Children and adults (with or without carious lesions)
It is very uncertain whether silver diamine fluoride (SDF) changes caries arrest compared with glass ionomer cement (GIC) plus fluoride varnish (very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Determinants of oral diseases · Adult residents of slums and non-slum urban settings of LMICs
Age, education, income, oral-hygiene behaviour, dental-visit pattern and slum/disadvantaged residence are associated with oral disease; gender effects are disease-specific; ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Fourteen studies reported determinants: older age, less education, lower income, poor oral hygiene behaviour (brushing frequency, technique), infrequent dental visits and disadvantaged/slum residential setting were…
14 studies
GRADE not reported
Dental caries susceptibility · Institutionalized orphan children (roughly 3 to 18 years)
Primary teeth may carry a higher caries risk than permanent teeth in institutionalized children (RR 1.31), but the difference is not statistically significant (very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review