The evidence base for professional and self-care prevention - caries, erosion and sensitivity

BMC Oral Health

Table 1 Primary caries prevention: prevented fraction in permanent teeth versus placebo and quality of evidence for self-applied and professional fluorides

Method	Prevented fraction^a	Quality of evidence^b	Reference No.
Self-care
Fluoride tooth paste	24%	⊕⊕⊕⊕	[6–8]
Fluoride mouth rinse	29%	⊕⊕OO	[9]
Fluoride tablets, drops, lozenges, gums	24%	⊕OOO^c	[10]
Professional care
Fluoride varnish	43%	⊕⊕⊕O	[11]
Fluoride gel	21%	⊕⊕OO	[6]

^aPrevented fraction = difference in caries increment between a test and a control group, divided by the mean caries increment in the control group.
^baccording to the GRADE-scale:
• High (⊕⊕⊕⊕). Based on high or moderate quality studies containing no factors that weaken the overall judgement. The true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect
• Moderate (⊕⊕⊕O). Based on high or moderate quality studies containing isolated factors that weaken the overall judgement. The true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different
• Low (⊕⊕OO). Based on high or moderate quality studies containing factors that weaken the overall judgement. The true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect
• Very low (⊕OOO). The evidence base is insufficient when scientific evidence is lacking, quality of available studies is poor or studies of similar quality are contradictory. Our confidence in the effect estimate is limited: The true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of the effect

ISSN: 1472-6831