SynthesisInternational dental journal2026
A Meta-analysis of Oral Health Interventions in Children: Impacts on Knowledge, Behaviour, and Clinical Outcomes.
Synthesis in International dental journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Cranial Base Characteristics in Growing Patients With Class III Skeletal Pattern: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International dental journal · 2026Pooled it
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundChildhood oral diseases affect well-being and development, often linked to poor diet, limited knowledge, and inadequate hygiene. Despite widespread behaviour-based interventions, their effectiveness remains inconsistent. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the impact of these interventions on children's oral health knowledge, behaviours, and clinical outcomes.
methodFollowing Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we included quasi-experimental studies (pretest/posttest designs, often without control groups). Articles were retrieved from five databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Publication bias was assessed using funnel plots and Egger's test. Study quality was evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Checklist for Quasi-Experimental Studies.
resultsA total of 44 studies were included. Significant improvements were observed in oral health knowledge (SMD = 1.98; 95% CI: 1.54-2.42), oral health behaviours (SMD = 1.52; 0.87-2.17), plaque index (SMD = -1.34; -1.72 to -0.96), gingival index (SMD = -1.39; -2.12 to -0.65), oral hygiene index-simplified (SMD = -1.18; -1.65 to -0.71), and debris index (SMD = -1.38; -1.97 to -0.80), all indicating large effect sizes. No significant improvement was found for the calculus index (SMD = -0.15; -0.50 to 0.21).
conclusionThe results of this study highlight the positive impact of interventions in promoting good oral health practices and preventing the early onset of oral diseases. However, no significant effect was found on the calculus index, suggesting that the impact of these interventions on calculus accumulation remains uncertain and may require further investigation or additional strategies, such as professional dental care. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This meta-analysis provides evidence that behaviour-based interventions can effectively improve children's oral health knowledge and hygiene practices, supporting their role in early prevention programs. However, additional professional care may be necessary to control calculus accumulation.
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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 Socratic graph.