Effectiveness of Fluoride Varnish in Preventing Dental Caries: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Introduction: Dental caries remains a prevalent global health issue with over two billion people being affected worldwide, necessitating effective preventive strategies like fluoride varnish (FV). This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of fluoride varnish in preventing dental caries by synthesizing data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies. This analysis will help to further scientific knowledge with evidence-based clinical knowledge, which will focus on the real-world clinical problems faced in dental practice.

Methods: Thirteen Randomized trials were analyzed while adhering to PRISMA guidelines, after assessing 2315 archives. ROB2 was used to evaluate the risk of bias from the data obtained through the PICO criteria. Effect sizes were aggregated for caries reduction with Random-effects models. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and text words associated with fluoride varnish and dental caries were used for the investigation.

Results: Fluoride varnish reduced caries in 4784 participants, with 95% CI of 0.28 to 0.43. Greater improvements were seen in younger children and those affected with xerostomia, where a reduction of 54% was seen with quarterly applications and with minimal undesirable effects (<5%).

Discussion: Outcomes suggest fluoride varnish as an effective caries preventive tool, especially with high-risk populations. Higher degrees of variation observed (I² = 75.1%) suggest that effectiveness might be increased if standardized application protocols are followed.

Conclusion: The study outcomes support the notion that fluoride varnish is an effective measure against caries, hence supporting the idea of its integration into public health programs for reducing widespread caries burden.