What do systematic reviews say?

Primary school-based behavioural intervention (both oral hygiene and dietary components) vs No treatment (or delayed treatment)

Primary school-based behavioural intervention (both oral hygiene and… showed no clear difference in plaque indices (permanent and deciduous teeth) compared with no intervention or delayed intervention (non-intervention control;… (low certainty).

• Primary school‐based behavioural interventions for preventing caries 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes

  3 to 15 months
  SoF (Plaque indices, follow-up 3 to 15 months): 'All 3 RCTs showed a reduction in plaque in the intervention group compared to control group'; 827 participants (3 RCTs); GRADE low; comment 'Data not suitable for…
  3 studies · 827 participants
  Low

Primary school-based behavioural intervention (both oral hygiene and dietary components) vs No treatment (or delayed treatment)

• Primary school‐based behavioural interventions for preventing caries 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes

  15 months
  PF 0.65 [0.12, 1.18]
  1 study · 60 participants
  Low

Primary school-based behavioural intervention (both oral hygiene and dietary components) vs No treatment (or delayed treatment)

• Primary school‐based behavioural interventions for preventing caries 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Worthington 2001 reported changes in oral health knowledge and skills: improvement was apparent in both intervention and control groups at the 4-month follow-up (phase one) but greater in the intervention group (34%…
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Primary school-based behavioural intervention (both oral hygiene and dietary components) vs No treatment (or delayed treatment)

• Primary school‐based behavioural interventions for preventing caries 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Worthington 2001 found no change in reported dental visits over the course of the programmes, with 97% of children at baseline reporting visiting the dentist every 2 years.
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Primary school-based behavioural intervention (both oral hygiene and dietary components) vs No treatment (or delayed treatment)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Primary school‐based behavioural interventions for preventing caries 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No other behavioural outcomes (e.g. objective toothbrush tracking or food-wrapper collection) were measured by the four included studies.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Primary school-based behavioural intervention (both oral hygiene and dietary components) vs No treatment (or delayed treatment)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Primary school‐based behavioural interventions for preventing caries 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No study reported any adverse events.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Primary school-based behavioural intervention (both oral hygiene and dietary components) vs No treatment (or delayed treatment)

• Primary school‐based behavioural interventions for preventing caries 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes

  2 years
  PF 0.49
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Primary school-based behavioural intervention (both oral hygiene and dietary components) vs No treatment (or delayed treatment)

• Primary school‐based behavioural interventions for preventing caries 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Worthington 2001: few children had problems identifying foods containing sugar; only 15% of intervention and 19% of control participants reported routinely consuming sugary snacks on arriving home from school; snacking…
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Primary school-based behavioural intervention (both oral hygiene and dietary components) vs No treatment (or delayed treatment)

• Primary school‐based behavioural interventions for preventing caries 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Worthington 2001 reported children's brushing frequency: almost all children (99%) at baseline reported twice daily brushing, and this level was maintained across all groups throughout the intervention (in baseline…
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Gamified oral health interventions (mobile apps, serious games, augmented reality, game-based education) vs Conventional or traditional oral health education, or non-gamified interventions (comparator varied; several studies were single-arm/uncontrolled)

Gamified interventions appear to improve oral hygiene behaviors (brushing habits, preventive dental visits) in children, but the evidence is narrative and ungraded.

• The Application of Gamification in Children's Oral Health Management: Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes

  Post-intervention (predominantly short-term; long-term follow-up in a minority of studies) · School-based settings, specialized dental clinics, and home-based environments
  A gesture-based motion-capture game enhanced brushing independence and skill retention (P<.001) [Kang 2021]; 58.8% of caregivers reported their children brushed more often when using gamified applications [France…
  Studies not reported
  GRADE not reported

Dietary advice on how to achieve a healthy diet for infants (tailored advice focused on a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol intake) vs usual care

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions with pregnant women, new mothers and other primary caregivers for preventing early childhood caries 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes
  dmfs was listed in the SoF table but not assessed (not reported for this comparison).
  0 studies
  No studies found
• Interventions with pregnant women, new mothers and other primary caregivers for preventing early childhood caries 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes
  dmft was listed in the SoF table but not assessed (not reported for this comparison).
  0 studies
  No studies found

Dietary advice on how to achieve a healthy diet for infants (tailored advice focused on a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol intake) vs usual care

• Interventions with pregnant women, new mothers and other primary caregivers for preventing early childhood caries 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Data from Lapinleimu 1995 on mother oral health behaviour (other data) showed some evidence of benefit in favour of the intervention.
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Dietary advice on how to achieve a healthy diet for infants (tailored advice focused on a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol intake) vs usual care

Dietary advice on how to achieve a healthy diet for infants… showed no clear difference in mother plaque (sub- and supragingival calculus) compared with standard care; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions with pregnant women, new mothers and other primary caregivers for preventing early childhood caries 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes
  RR 0.92 [0.62, 1.37]
  1 study · 133 participants
  GRADE not reported

Dietary advice on how to achieve a healthy diet for infants (tailored advice focused on a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol intake) vs usual care

Dietary advice on how to achieve a healthy diet for infants… showed no clear difference in mother gingival health (mild or moderate bone loss) compared with standard care; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions with pregnant women, new mothers and other primary caregivers for preventing early childhood caries 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes
  RR 1.43 [0.42, 4.85]
  1 study · 133 participants
  GRADE not reported

Dietary advice on how to achieve a healthy diet for infants (tailored advice focused on a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol intake) vs usual care

• Interventions with pregnant women, new mothers and other primary caregivers for preventing early childhood caries 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Data on oral health behaviours from Lapinleimu 1995 (other data) showed no evidence of a difference between groups.
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Dietary advice on how to achieve a healthy diet for infants (tailored advice focused on a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol intake) vs usual care

It is very uncertain whether dietary advice on how to achieve a healthy diet for infants… changes caries presence in primary teeth compared with standard care (very low certainty).

• Interventions with pregnant women, new mothers and other primary caregivers for preventing early childhood caries 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Children assessed at 3 yrs
  RR 1.08 [0.34, 3.37]
  1 study · 148 participants
  Very low

Advice about a healthy diet (including breastfeeding promotion and sugar avoidance) and feeding practices (e.g. relating to bottle-feeding and sleep) for infants and young children vs usual care

Advice about a healthy diet (including breastfeeding promotion and… showed no clear difference in dmfs index score (decayed, missing, filled primary surfaces; range… compared with standard care (low certainty).

• Interventions with pregnant women, new mothers and other primary caregivers for preventing early childhood caries 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Children assessed at 1-3 yrs
  MD -0.29 [-0.58, 0]
  2 studies · 757 participants
  Low

Advice about a healthy diet (including breastfeeding promotion and sugar avoidance) and feeding practices (e.g. relating to bottle-feeding and sleep) for infants and young children vs usual care

Advice about a healthy diet (including breastfeeding promotion and… probably leads to lower caries presence in primary teeth compared with standard care (moderate certainty).

• Interventions with pregnant women, new mothers and other primary caregivers for preventing early childhood caries 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Children assessed at 3-5 yrs
  RR 0.85 [0.75, 0.97]
  3 studies · 782 participants
  Moderate

Advice about a healthy diet (including breastfeeding promotion and sugar avoidance) and feeding practices (e.g. relating to bottle-feeding and sleep) for infants and young children vs usual care

Advice about a healthy diet (including breastfeeding promotion and… led to lower caries severity (d1 + mfs >= 5) compared with standard care; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions with pregnant women, new mothers and other primary caregivers for preventing early childhood caries 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Children assessed at 4 yrs
  RR 0.68 [0.50, 0.92]
  1 study · 340 participants
  GRADE not reported

Advice about a healthy diet (including breastfeeding promotion and sugar avoidance) and feeding practices (e.g. relating to bottle-feeding and sleep) for infants and young children vs usual care

• Interventions with pregnant women, new mothers and other primary caregivers for preventing early childhood caries 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes
  One trial (Watt 2009) reported mother self-reported oral health behaviours (other data): some benefit in favour of the intervention.
  1 study
  GRADE not reported