A systematic review on the effect of silver diamine fluoride for management of dental caries in permanent teeth

Objectives: The objective of this review is to assess the available literature systematically related to the effect of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for the management of occlusal and root carious lesions in permanent teeth regardless of age. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This systematic review was conducted according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses statement. A literature search was performed using PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, DOAJ, and Open Gray with no language restrictions up to December 2022. Three reviewers critically assessed the studies for eligibility. Any disputes between the reviewers were handled by a fourth independent reviewer. The quality assessment and data extraction of the studies were performed.

Results: A total of 2176 studies were screened. The titles and abstracts of the studies were then reviewed (n = 346), and 52 studies met the search criteria. Following the full-text review, 11 studies investigated the effect of SDF against other treatments such as chlorhexidine, sodium fluoride, ammonium bifluoride, tricalcium silicate paste, casein phosphopeptide amorphous calcium phosphate, glass ionomer cement (GIC) combined with fluoride varnish, resin-modified GIC, and atraumatic restorative treatment were assessed.

Conclusions: Within the limitations of this review, the use of SDF is promising with high preventative fractions in permanent teeth of children and older populations when compared to other topical applications such as dental varnish containing sodium fluoride.