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. 2019 Nov 20;2019(11):CD012155. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012155.pub2

Summary of findings 3. Summary of findings ‐ dietary advice versus standard care.

Dieatary advice for infants and young children compared with standard care for preventing caries in young children
Population: for interventions, pregnant women and mothers or other caregivers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years of age
Setting: Finland (1 RCT)
Intervention: advice about how to achieve a healthy diet for their infants (tailored advice focused on ensuring a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol intake)
Comparison: standard care
Outcomes Illustrative comparative risks* (95% CI) Relative effect
 (95% CI) Number of participants
 (studies) Certainty of the evidence
 (GRADE) Comments
Assumed risk Corresponding risk
Standard care Dietary advice
Caries presence in primary teeth
(children 0 to 6 yrs)
71 per 1000 77 per 1000
 (25 to 241) RR 1.08 (0.34 to 3.37) 148
 (1 RCT) ⊕⊝⊝⊝
 very low1  
dmfs index score
(range 0 to 80)
(children 0 to 6 yrs)
Not assessed The dmfs index expresses the total number of decayed missing or filled surfaces in primary dentition (five per posterior tooth and four per anterior tooth) as a score (range 0‐80 surfaces, lower is better)
dmft index score
(range 0 to 20)
(children 0 to 6 yrs)
Not assessed The dmft index expresses the total number of teeth affected by tooth decay (missing or filled) in the primary dentition as a score (range 0 to 20, lower is better)
*The basis for the assumed risk (e.g. the median control group risk across studies) is provided in footnotes. The corresponding risk (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI).
CI: confidence interval; dmfs: decayed, missing and filled surfaces (in primary teeth of children); dmft: decayed, missing and filled teeth (primary, of children); NA: not applicable; RR: risk ratio; yrs: years
GRADE Working Group grades of evidenceHigh certainty: we are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect.
 Moderate certainty: we are moderately confident in the effect estimate; 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 certainty: our confidence in the effect estimate is limited; the true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect.
 Very low certainty: we have very little confidence in the effect estimate; the true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect.

1ROB (‐1): downgraded for risk of selection bias, and possible bias due to attrition (not downgraded for lack of blinding of participants and personnel due to objective outcome); imprecision (‐2): downgraded for wide confidence interval passing through line of no effect