Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

199 questions · 351 findings · 38 reviews · Oral Health

No studies found 0 · 0%GRADE not reported 338 · 96.3%Very low 4 · 1.1%Low 8 · 2.3%Moderate 1 · 0.3%High 0 · 0%

Early childhood caries / severe early childhood caries vs Caries-free controls

Change in height-for-age z score · Children aged ≤6 years (early childhood)

The association between baseline caries and declining height-for-age persisted after adjustment (coefficient -0.02); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Early childhood caries / severe early childhood caries vs Caries-free controls

Stunting · Children aged ≤6 years (early childhood)

One Nepalese cross-sectional study found caries severity significantly correlated with chronic malnutrition/stunting (HAZ; p<0.0001), especially in rural children; ungraded, no effect size reported.

3 findings from 1 review

Early childhood caries / severe early childhood caries vs Caries-free controls

Risk of malnutrition (younger children, 6 months to 6 years) · Children aged ≤6 years (early childhood)

One Nepalese cross-sectional study found no significant association between severe ECC and malnutrition risk in children under 6 (mean difference 0.13, p=0.609); ungraded.

1 finding from 1 review

Breastfeeding for more than 24 months vs Not breastfed at the same age or breastfed for a shorter duration

Early childhood caries (ECC) - incidence/risk · Children with exclusively primary dentition (age ≤71 months)

Breastfeeding beyond 24 months is associated with an increased risk (incidence) of early childhood caries versus not breastfeeding at the same age (RR 2.44, 95% CI 1.97 to 3.02; low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Late tooth brushing initiation (>=12 months, or >=2 years in some studies) vs Early tooth brushing initiation (<12 months, or <2 years)

Early childhood caries (ECC) · Healthy children under 6 years of age (6 months to 6 years); preschool children

In the primary pooled analysis, late tooth brushing initiation was associated with a non-significant 40% higher odds of early childhood caries (OR 1.40, 95% CI 0.91 to 2.16), with very high heterogeneity (I2=90.5%); ungraded.

2 findings from 1 review

Presence of oral Candida albicans vs Absence of oral Candida albicans

Early childhood caries (ECC) · Children aged ≤6 years (early childhood)

RETRACTED. Among studies before 2017, oral C. albicans presence was associated with higher odds of ECC (OR 4.89, 95% CI 2.79-8.58); ungraded subgroup from a retracted review.

16 findings from 1 review
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Growth stunting (linear growth retardation, low height-for-age) vs Children without growth stunting (normal height-for-age)

Early childhood caries (ECC) · Children aged ≤6 years (early childhood)

One Nigerian cross-sectional study reported a significant adjusted association between nutritional (stunting) status and ECC (APR 0.14, 95% CI 0.03-0.69); ungraded.

4 findings from 1 review
Show 1 more finding

Early childhood caries (ECC) vs Caries-free controls

Relative abundance of Veillonella spp. · Young children with early childhood caries and caries-free controls

Veillonella spp. mean relative abundance was higher in ECC children, without a comparative effect estimate or CI.

4 findings from 2 reviews · compare the 2 reviews
Show 1 more finding

Early childhood caries (ECC) vs Caries-free controls

Number of detected salivary bacterial genera · Young children with early childhood caries and caries-free controls

Fewer salivary bacterial genera were reported in the caries-affected group, without a comparative effect estimate or CI.

1 finding from 1 review

Early childhood caries (ECC) vs Caries-free controls

Relative abundance of dominant salivary microbial community (7 genera) · Young children with early childhood caries and caries-free controls

The reported multi-genus community had similar relative abundance in caries-affected and caries-free children, without a comparative effect estimate or CI.

1 finding from 1 review

Early childhood caries (ECC) vs Caries-free controls

Streptococcus mutans and Veillonella spp. levels · Young children with early childhood caries and caries-free controls

Veillonella spp. levels were reported as substantially greater in caries subjects, but the review gave no numerical effect estimate or CI.

1 finding from 1 review

Early childhood caries (ECC) vs NA (within-white-spot-lesion correlation, not a caries vs caries-free comparison)

Correlation of Veillonella spp. with acidogenic streptococci · Young children with early childhood caries and caries-free controls

Veillonella spp. levels were correlated with acidogenic streptococci in white spot lesions (r²=0.38); no CI was reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Severe early childhood caries vs Caries-free controls

Relative abundance of Veillonella spp. · Children under 6 years with severe early childhood caries and caries-free controls

Veillonella spp. mean relative abundance was lower in the S-ECC group; no comparative effect estimate or CI was reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Severe early childhood caries vs Caries-free controls

Relative abundance of S. mutans in saliva · Children under 6 years with severe early childhood caries and caries-free controls

S. mutans median relative abundance was higher in the S-ECC group, without a comparative effect estimate or CI.

1 finding from 1 review

Severe early childhood caries vs Caries-free controls

Streptococcus relative abundance · Children under 6 years with severe early childhood caries and caries-free controls

Streptococcus mean relative abundance was slightly higher in the S-ECC group; no comparative effect estimate or CI was reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Severe early childhood caries vs Caries-free controls

Veillonella spp. and Streptococcus mutans interaction · Children under 6 years with severe early childhood caries and caries-free controls

The study reported a possible role for Veillonella spp. in supporting cariogenic species, without a quantitative effect estimate.

1 finding from 1 review

Severe early childhood caries vs Caries-free controls

Veillonella dispar relative abundance · Children under 6 years with severe early childhood caries and caries-free controls

Veillonella dispar median relative abundance was higher in the S-ECC group, without a comparative effect estimate or CI.

1 finding from 1 review

38% SDF solution (applied biannually) vs 38% SDF solution (applied annually)

Caries arrest · Children with dentine carious lesions (ICDAS 4-5) in primary teeth

Twice-yearly 38% SDF was reported to arrest more caries than once-yearly application (24-month rates 91% vs 79%; ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Early childhood caries (ECC) vs Caries-free controls

Iron deficiency (as defined by trialists) · Preschool children (<6 years)

In a sensitivity analysis excluding one outlier study, ECC remained associated with higher odds of iron deficiency (OR 2.76, 95% CI 2.42 to 3.13); ungraded.

2 findings from 1 review