Periodontal parameters (all measures pooled) in OC cases vs controls · Adults in case-control studies (oral cancer patients vs healthy controls)
Pooling all periodontal measures, oral cancer patients had worse periodontal status than controls (SMD 0.95, 95% CI 0.41-1.49; very high heterogeneity, I2=96.8%); ungraded. Note this pools clinically different measures.
1 finding from 1 review
Probing pocket depth · Adults in case-control studies (oral cancer patients vs healthy controls)
Periodontal pocket depth did not differ significantly between oral cancer patients and controls (SMD 1.64, 95% CI -0.20 to 3.47; very high heterogeneity); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Malignant transformation (oral cancer development) · Adults in case-control studies of oral cancer; people assessed for periodontitis
Periodontitis is associated with roughly a threefold higher odds of oral cancer (pooled OR 2.94, 95% CI 2.13-4.07; low certainty of evidence), though heterogeneity is moderate (I2=52.4%).
1 finding from 1 review
Alveolar bone loss · Adults in case-control studies (oral cancer patients vs healthy controls)
Alveolar bone loss did not differ significantly between oral cancer patients and controls (SMD 0.18, 95% CI -2.34 to 2.69; extreme heterogeneity); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Malignant transformation (oral cancer development) · Adults in case-control studies (oral cancer patients vs healthy controls)
The number of missing teeth (per tooth) was not significantly associated with oral cancer (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.92-1.01); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Dental caries · Adults in case-control studies (oral cancer patients vs healthy controls)
The DMFT index was significantly higher in oral cancer patients than controls (SMD 0.65, 95% CI 0.12-1.18); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Mean number of missing teeth in OC cases vs controls · Adults in case-control studies (oral cancer patients vs healthy controls)
The mean number of missing teeth did not differ significantly between oral cancer patients and controls (SMD 0.59, 95% CI -0.04 to 1.22); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Oral cancer risk · People with and without more than 15 missing teeth
More than 15 missing teeth was associated with higher odds of oral cancer.
1 finding from 1 review
OR 1.91 [1.01, 3.62]
5 studies
GRADE not reported
Malignant transformation (oral cancer development) · Adults in case-control studies (oral cancer patients vs healthy controls)
Pooling across all missing-teeth measures, the overall association with oral cancer was not statistically significant (OR 1.20, 95% CI 0.97-1.48; high heterogeneity, I2=82.8%); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Intervention not reported
Oral cancer (OC)
The intervention led to higher oral cancer (OC); GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
OR 2.63 [1.92, 3.62]
7 studies
GRADE not reported
Periodontitis (clinical attachment loss) · Adults in case-control studies (oral cancer patients vs healthy controls)
Clinical attachment loss was significantly greater in oral cancer patients than controls (SMD 1.94, 95% CI 0.22-3.66), though heterogeneity was very high (I2=96.7%); ungraded.
1 finding from 1 review
Plaque · Orthodontic patients undergoing comprehensive treatment (late mixed or permanent dentition, no active caries)
In randomized trials, clear aligners probably reduce plaque accumulation versus fixed appliances, though the subgroup estimate is imprecise and its CI crosses no effect (SMD -1.79, 95% CI -3.63 to 0.04; moderate certainty).
6 findings from 1 review
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White spot lesion incidence · Orthodontic patients undergoing comprehensive treatment (late mixed or permanent dentition, no active caries)
Most studies reported a lower incidence of white spot lesions with clear aligners than fixed appliances, but heterogeneous assessment methods precluded meta-analysis (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Self-reported thirst · Elderly (>60 years) and medically compromised adults with xerostomia / dry mouth
Gum chewing reduced self-reported thirst in most studies (6 of 7 positive, 1 no effect); not meta-analyzed.
1 finding from 1 review
Salivary flow rate · Elderly (>60 years) and medically compromised adults with xerostomia / dry mouth
Across 19 studies the effect of gum chewing on stimulated and/or unstimulated salivary flow rate was mixed (9 positive, 10 no effect); this broad outcome was not meta-analyzed.
1 finding from 1 review
The effect of gum chewing on xerostomia and salivary flow rate in elderly and medically compromised subjects: a… 2023 All outcomesVarious (single session to 12 months) · Haemodialysis units, elderly / geriatric care, cancer and palliative care, and xerostomia / hyposalivation clinics (studies from multiple countries)
Narrative vote-count: of 19 studies measuring stimulated and/or unstimulated saliva flow rate, 9 found a positive effect of gum chewing [17,18,22,24,27,35,36,38,39] and 10 detected no effect…
19 studies
GRADE not reported
Oral mucosal moisture · Elderly (>60 years) and medically compromised adults with xerostomia / dry mouth
One small study found that chewing hard (but not soft) gum increased oral mucosal moisture.
1 finding from 1 review
Severity of white spot lesions (surface area and depth) · Orthodontic patients undergoing comprehensive treatment (late mixed or permanent dentition, no active caries)
White spot lesion severity was assessed narratively in a small number of studies and not meta-analyzed; evidence is limited (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Salivary caries-associated bacteria (S. mutans and Lactobacilli, subjects with >10^5 CFU/mL) · Orthodontic patients undergoing comprehensive treatment (late mixed or permanent dentition, no active caries)
Both included studies reported higher salivary caries-associated bacteria (S. mutans and Lactobacilli) with fixed appliances than clear aligners; not meta-analyzed (ungraded).
1 finding from 1 review
Salivary flow rate (unstimulated) · Elderly (>60 years) and medically compromised adults with xerostomia / dry mouth
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1 finding from 1 review
Salivary flow rate (unstimulated) · Elderly (>60 years) and medically compromised adults with xerostomia / dry mouth
In elderly and medically compromised people with xerostomia, chewing sugar-free gum daily for two or more weeks produces a small but statistically significant increase in unstimulated whole salivary flow rate versus no gum (SMD 0.44, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.66); certainty of evidence was not formally graded.
1 finding from 1 review