Prevalence (detection frequency) of S. mutans in saliva · Healthy caries-active and caries-free individuals
S. mutans detection in saliva was higher in caries-active than caries-free individuals.
1 finding from 1 review
Secondary caries · Patients requiring dental restoration; permanent teeth
Over 1 year in permanent teeth, the effect of ACTIVA versus GIC on secondary caries is very uncertain (RR 22.80, 95% CI 0.89-584.17; very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Prevalence and severity of oral and TMJ diseases/conditions (periodontal status and dental caries) · Children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)
Some studies suggested greater JIA disease activity/severity (and certain medications) was associated with worse periodontal and caries outcomes, but small samples meant no solid conclusion could be drawn (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Secondary caries · Patients requiring dental restoration; deciduous (primary) teeth
In deciduous teeth at 1 year, pooled bioactive materials (RMGIC and compomer) showed no significant difference from resin composite in secondary caries (RR 0.54, 95% CI 0.07-4.10; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Clinical effectiveness · Children with carious primary teeth
No eligible randomized clinical trials of bio-active restorative materials were found.
1 finding from 1 review
no estimate extracted
0 studies
No studies found
CA VI concentration · Individuals assessed for dental caries (mainly children aged 2-9 years; one study in adults aged 18-24 years)
Salivary CA VI concentration is significantly lower in individuals with dental caries than in caries-free individuals (SMD -0.672, 95% CI -1.011 to -0.332; not GRADE-rated).
1 finding from 1 review
CA VI activity · Children (age about 2-9 years) across the 7 meta-analyzed activity samples; excludes Kivela 1999 adults (18-24 years), qualitative only…
Salivary/biofilm CA VI activity is significantly higher in individuals with dental caries than in caries-free individuals (SMD 0.894, 95% CI 0.386 to 1.392; not GRADE-rated).
1 finding from 1 review
Salivary IL-6 level (pg/mL) · Children and young adults (3-25 years)
Salivary IL-6 levels are significantly higher in children and young adults with active dental caries than in caries-free or mild-caries controls (SMD 11.60 pg/mL, 95% CI 6.27 to 16.94; 11 studies); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Salivary IL-8 level (pg/mL) · Children and young adults (3-25 years)
Salivary IL-8 levels are higher in children and young adults with active dental caries than in controls but the difference is not statistically significant (SMD 57.20 pg/mL, 95% CI -18.60 to 133.00; 7 studies); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
TNF-α level · Children and young adults (3-25 years)
Salivary TNF-α levels are significantly higher in children and young adults with active dental caries than in caries-free or mild-caries controls (SMD 14.81 pg/mL, 95% CI 4.76 to 24.86; 7 studies); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Relative abundance of S. mutans in saliva · Systemically healthy individuals (children and adults, aged 40 months to 50 years) assessed for dental caries
The relative abundance of S. mutans in saliva is significantly higher in caries-active than caries-free individuals (pooled SMD 1.48, 95% CI 0.45 to 2.50), but heterogeneity is very high (I2=90%); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Oral microbial community composition and diversity (other caries-associated taxa; alpha- and beta-diversity) · Systemically healthy individuals (children and adults, aged 40 months to 50 years) assessed for dental caries
No oral microbial taxon other than S. mutans was consistently associated with caries; alpha-diversity mostly did not differ between caries-active and caries-free groups and beta-diversity findings were mixed (ungraded, narrative).
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
Dental caries · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH)
Among HIV+ children, HAART versus no HAART showed no significant difference in the odds of dental caries by DMFT in cross-sectional studies (OR 1.29, 95% CI 0.59 to 2.84; ungraded).
2 findings from 1 review
Association between antiretroviral therapy and dental caries in children and adolescents with HIV: a systematic review… 2025 All outcomesNot specified (cross-sectional) · Dental examination of children/adolescents with HIV in clinic and community settings; low- and middle-income countries (Brazil, India, Nigeria, Cambodia, Uganda, West Africa) · Cross-sectional studies; DMFT index
OR 1.29 [0.59, 2.84]
Studies not reported
GRADE not reported
Association between antiretroviral therapy and dental caries in children and adolescents with HIV: a systematic review… 2025 All outcomesNot specified (cross-sectional) · Dental examination of children/adolescents with HIV in clinic and community settings; low- and middle-income countries (Brazil, India, Nigeria, Cambodia, Uganda, West Africa) · Cross-sectional studies; deft index
OR 1.09 [0.65, 1.82]
Studies not reported
GRADE not reported
Dental caries in permanent teeth · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH)
Among HIV+ children, HAART was associated with a significantly higher DMFT index than no HAART in case-control studies (MD 2.02, 95% CI 1.24 to 2.80; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Caries in primary teeth: dmft (3 years) · Children and adolescents (<18 years) living with HIV (CLWH)
Among HIV+ children, HAART versus no HAART showed no significant difference in the dmft index in case-control studies (MD 0.66, 95% CI -0.26 to 1.58; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Treatment failure (planned; no eligible studies) · Children with carious primary teeth after vital or non-vital pulp therapy
No eligible studies were found evaluating bio-active restorative materials for restoring carious primary teeth after pulp therapy.
1 finding from 1 review
Not applicable (no eligible studies) · Children with carious primary teeth (no pulp therapy)
No eligible RCTs assessed new bio-active restorative materials in carious primary teeth; this is an evidence gap identified by the review.
1 finding from 1 review
Ion release (fluoride, calcium, phosphate) · Human enamel specimens around orthodontic brackets (in vitro)
In vitro, among the 5 BAG ion-release studies only Ga-doped BAG (GaMBN, Song [31]) reported a significant increase (phosphate, up to 14 days); a general significant fluoride/calcium/phosphate increase across all 5 is not supported (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Enamel remineralization / anti-demineralization extent · Human enamel specimens around orthodontic brackets (in vitro)
In vitro, most bioactive glass-containing orthodontic adhesives (9 of 13 studies) showed significant enamel remineralization/anti-demineralization versus control, but the evidence is weak (predominantly high risk of bias, methodological heterogeneity, no meta-analysis; ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Out of 13 studies that evaluated bioactive glass particles/nanoparticles, 9 reported definitive statistically significant remineralization potential compared to control orthodontic adhesives [17, 21-24, 26-28, 31]; one…
13 studies
GRADE not reported