Trial reportBMC oral health2024
An open-label, parallel-group, randomized clinical trial of different silver diamine fluoride application intervals to arrest dental caries.
Trial report in BMC oral health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT04054635 (A Randomized Clinical Trial of Silver Diamine Fluoride to Arrest Early Childhood Caries in Young Children), which is not on this map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Randomized Clinical Trial of Silver Diamine Fluoride to Arrest Early Childhood Caries in Young Children
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Silver diamine fluoride versus atraumatic restorative treatment for management of childhood caries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC oral health · 2026Pooled it
- Comparative success of minimally invasive treatments for cavitated caries in primary teeth: a network meta-analysis.BMC oral health · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of silver diamine fluoride on oral bacteriome and mycobiome: a randomized clinical trial.BMC oral health · 2025Trial
- From Preservation to Precision in Pediatric Dentistry: Evidence-Calibrated Viewpoint and Heuristic Framework for Silver Diamine Fluoride Guidance.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Equity or Two-Tier Care? Guardrails for Silver Diamine Fluoride and Delegated Early Childhood Caries Pathways.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Review
- Non-Invasive Methods for the Secondary and Tertiary Prevention of Early Childhood Caries: A Scoping Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Exploring Alternative Fluoride Agents for Dental Caries Prevention: A Systematic Review.Journal of pharmacy & bioallied sciences · 2025Article
- Efficacy of Silver Diamine Fluoride and Nanosilver Fluoride in Preventing Caries: A Comparative Study.Journal of pharmacy & bioallied sciences · 2025Article
- Utilization of silver diamine fluoride by dentists in Canada: a review of the Non-Insured Health Benefits Dental Claims database.Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice · 2025Article
- Role of the Early Detection and Prevention of Dental Caries in Children: A Systematic Review of Clinical Outcomes.Cureus · 2025Review
- Correction: An open‑label, parallel‑group, randomized clinical trial of different silver diamine fluoride application intervals to arrest dental caries.BMC oral health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSilver diamine fluoride (SDF) is an antimicrobial agent and alternative treatment option that can be used to arrest dental decay. While there is optimism with SDF with regard to caries management, there is no true consensus on the number and frequency of applications for children. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of 38% SDF to arrest early childhood caries (ECC) at three different application regimen intervals.
methodsChildren with teeth that met International Caries Detection and Assessment System codes 5 or 6 criteria were recruited from community dental clinics into an open-label, parallel-group, randomized clinical trial from October 2019 to June 2021. Participants were randomized to one of three groups using sealed envelopes that were prepared with one of three regimens inside: visits one month, four months, or six months apart. Participants received applications of 38% SDF, along with 5% sodium fluoride varnish (NaFV), at the first two visits to treat cavitated carious lesions. Lesions were followed and arrest rates were calculated. Lesions were considered arrested if they were hard on probing and black in colour. Statistics included descriptive and bivariate analyses (Kruskal one-way analysis of variance and Pearson's Chi-squared test). A p-value of ≤ 0.05 was considered significant.
resultsEighty-four children participated in the study (49 males and 35 females, mean age: 44.4 ± 14.2 months). Treatment groups were well matched with 28 participants per group. A total of 374 teeth and 505 lesions were followed. Posterior lesions represented only 40.6% of affected surfaces. Almost all SDF treated lesions were arrested for the one-month (192/196, 98%) and four-month (159/166, 95.8%) interval groups at the final visit. The six-month group experienced the lowest arrest rates; only 72% (103/143) of lesions were arrested (p < 0.001). The duration of application intervals was inversely associated with improvements in arrest rates for all lesions.
conclusionsTwo applications of 38% SDF and 5% NaFV in one-month and four-month intervals were comparable and very effective in arresting ECC. Applications six months apart were less effective and could be considered inferior treatment.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04054635 (first registered 13/08/2019).
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