SynthesisBMC oral health2025
Fluoride mouthrinses for prevention of initial caries in orthodontic patients - a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC oral health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOrthodontic patients are often instructed to use fluoride mouthrinses (FMR) to prevent caries during treatment with fixed orthodontic appliances (FOA). The aim of this study was to examine the caries preventive effect of FMR during FOA treatment based on randomized controlled trials.
methodsAn information specialist searched five databases up to September 30, 2024. We included trials with parallel groups (intervention vs. control) and a minimum duration of six months. Based on the abstracts, the authors independently selected and reviewed full text papers, extracted key outcome data, and assessed the risk of bias. The primary outcome was incidence of enamel caries on subject level. We conducted a narrative synthesis and pooled comparable data in a random effects model.
resultsWe identified 22 studies of which seven, involving 704 patients, met the inclusion criteria. Five and two studies had moderate and high risk of bias, respectively. In all studies, FMR was additive to daily use of fluoride toothpaste. The intervention varied from twice daily to twice weekly and the duration ranged from six to 26 months. Five studies were included in a meta-analysis. The aggregated data showed a small risk difference of - 0.07 (95% CI -0.14; -0.01) in initial caries development adjacent to bracket base between the experimental and the control groups.
conclusionThis review found insufficient support for a general recommendation to use FMR during treatment with fixed orthodontic appliances in populations with regular use of fluoride toothpaste. This does not rule out the possibility that individual orthodontic patients may benefit from FMR after comprehensive risk assessment. Further investigations with standardized interventions and duration, reporting a core outcome set are required to clarify the effectiveness of fluoride mouthrinses in orthodontic patients.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.