Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

146 questions · 165 findings · 22 reviews · Oral Health

No studies found 1 · 0.6%GRADE not reported 138 · 83.6%Very low 8 · 4.8%Low 11 · 6.7%Moderate 6 · 3.6%High 1 · 0.6%

Placebo vs Silver diamine fluoride

Oral health-related quality of life · Children with dental caries

The direct estimate found no statistically significant difference in oral health-related quality of life between placebo and silver diamine fluoride.

2 findings from 1 review

Placebo vs no treatment

Caries increment in permanent teeth · Children or adolescents

The NMR reported an SMD by randomisation year; no GRADE assessment was reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Placebo vs no treatment

Caries increment, surface index D(M)FS · Children or adolescents

In the illustrative network meta-regression the SMD for caries increment differed between placebo and no treatment at randomization years 1970 to 1990; certainty was not graded.

1 finding from 1 review

Placebo rinse vs Pre-treatment (baseline, same group)

Lactobacillus count (pre- vs post-treatment) · Medically healthy individuals (adults and children, 6-60 years)

Placebo rinse did not significantly change Lactobacillus counts relative to baseline; not GRADE-rated.

1 finding from 1 review

Placebo rinse vs Pre-treatment (baseline, same group)

Streptococcus mutans count · Medically healthy individuals (adults and children, 6-60 years)

Placebo rinse did not significantly change Streptococcus mutans counts relative to baseline; not GRADE-rated.

1 finding from 1 review

Anticaries vaccine or antibody (DNA, recombinant protein, nanoparticle-adjuvanted, live-vector, plant-based, or passive IgY immunization) targeting S. mutans vs Control (unvaccinated / empty vector / PBS / placebo animals)

Streptococcus mutans colonization reduction (narrative; no CFU data reported) · Animal caries models (mice, rats, hamsters) challenged/colonized with Streptococcus mutans; one transgenic-plant antigen-expression system

Anticaries vaccines produced a sustained reduction in Streptococcus mutans colonization on teeth in animal models (ungraded narrative synthesis; no pooled estimate).

1 finding from 1 review

Hall technique vs placebo

Treatment success (caries lesion arrest or restoration survival) · Children (aged 3-11 y) with cavitated caries lesions in primary teeth

At 6 months, the Hall technique had significantly higher treatment success than placebo (OR 163.59; moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Fluoride mouthrinse (0.05-0.32% sodium fluoride or amine fluoride) added to daily fluoride toothpaste vs Control: fluoride toothpaste alone, placebo mouthrinse + toothpaste, or non-fluoride (chlorhexidine) mouthrinse + toothpaste

Incidence of initial caries around brackets, aesthetic-zone teeth only · Orthodontic patients (any age) undergoing orthodontic treatment (mostly fixed appliances)

When only aesthetic-zone teeth (incisors and canines) were considered, two studies reported a significant reduction in initial caries incidence favoring fluoride mouthrinse (ungraded, narrative; no pooled estimate).

1 finding from 1 review

Anticaries vaccine or antibody (DNA, recombinant protein, nanoparticle-adjuvanted, live-vector, plant-based, or passive IgY immunization) targeting S. mutans vs Control (unvaccinated / empty vector / PBS / placebo animals)

Salivary / secretory IgA (SIgA) antibody response (immunogenicity) · Animal caries models (mice, rats, hamsters) challenged/colonized with Streptococcus mutans; one transgenic-plant antigen-expression system

Anticaries vaccines, particularly via mucosal (intranasal) routes, elicited increased salivary/secretory IgA responses in the animal studies (ungraded narrative synthesis; no pooled estimate).

1 finding from 1 review

Inactivated-bacteria tablets vs Placebo, fluoride toothpaste, or standard post-filling care (varies by trial)

Improved caries prognosis via restored oral microbiota · Patients after dental filling

Adjuvant postbiotics after dental filling improve caries prognosis by restoring the oral microbiota in one RCT (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review
  • Postbiotics and Dental Caries: A Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes
    14 days · Clinical; salivary/plaque sampling
    One RCT reported that adjuvant postbiotic tablets after dental filling improved caries prognosis by restoring oral microbiota diversity, structure and function and reducing potentially pathogenic bacteria (Liu 2024);…
    1 study
    GRADE not reported

Atraumatic restorative treatment vs placebo

Treatment success (caries lesion arrest or restoration survival) · Children (aged 3-11 y) with cavitated caries lesions in primary teeth

At 6 months, ART had significantly higher treatment success than placebo (OR 16.18).

1 finding from 1 review

Anticaries vaccine or antibody (DNA, recombinant protein, nanoparticle-adjuvanted, live-vector, plant-based, or passive IgY immunization) targeting S. mutans vs Control (unvaccinated / empty vector / PBS / placebo animals)

Serum IgG antibody response (immunogenicity) · Animal caries models (mice, rats, hamsters) challenged/colonized with Streptococcus mutans; one transgenic-plant antigen-expression system

Anticaries vaccines elicited increased serum IgG antibody responses across the animal studies (ungraded narrative synthesis; no pooled estimate).

1 finding from 1 review

Conventional restoration vs placebo

Treatment success (caries lesion arrest or restoration survival) · Children (aged 3-11 y) with cavitated caries lesions in primary teeth

At 6 months, conventional restorations had significantly higher treatment success than placebo (OR 44.66).

1 finding from 1 review

Fluoride mouthrinse (0.05-0.32% sodium fluoride or amine fluoride) added to daily fluoride toothpaste vs Control: fluoride toothpaste alone, placebo mouthrinse + toothpaste, or non-fluoride (chlorhexidine) mouthrinse + toothpaste

Incidence of proximal (interdental) caries lesions from bitewing radiographs · Orthodontic patients (any age) undergoing orthodontic treatment (mostly fixed appliances)

Only one included study assessed proximal caries incidence from bitewing radiographs; it was not included in the meta-analysis and no pooled estimate is available (ungraded).

1 finding from 1 review

Postbiotic products (postbiotic toothpaste; heat-killed/postbiotic oral lozenges; inactivated-bacteria tablets) vs Placebo, fluoride toothpaste, or standard post-filling care (varies by trial)

Streptococcus mutans count · Humans at risk of dental caries (children aged 6-12 years; adults with dental caries)

Postbiotic products reduce salivary S. mutans counts in human trials, though not always significantly (ungraded narrative synthesis).

1 finding from 1 review
  • Postbiotics and Dental Caries: A Systematic Review. 2025 All outcomes
    Daily for 14 days to 4 weeks · Clinical; salivary/plaque sampling
    Three RCTs reported reduced salivary S. mutans counts after postbiotic intervention; the reduction was statistically significant in Lin 2022 but non-significant in Basir 2022; no pooled estimate.
    3 studies
    GRADE not reported

Anticaries vaccine or antibody (DNA, recombinant protein, nanoparticle-adjuvanted, live-vector, plant-based, or passive IgY immunization) targeting S. mutans vs Control (unvaccinated / empty vector / PBS / placebo animals)

Development of >=1 new carious lesion (caries incidence) · Animal caries models (mice, rats, hamsters) challenged/colonized with Streptococcus mutans; one transgenic-plant antigen-expression system

In preclinical animal models, anticaries vaccines significantly reduced dental caries risk (pooled RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.62; random-effects), but the evidence is ungraded and limited to short-term animal studies.

1 finding from 1 review

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) vs placebo

Treatment success (caries lesion arrest or restoration survival) · Children (aged 3-11 y) with cavitated caries lesions in primary teeth

At 6 months, SDF had significantly higher treatment success than placebo (OR 33.62).

1 finding from 1 review