The aim of this paper is to systematically review the literature to determine whether early childhood caries (ECC) is significantly associated with caries development in permanent teeth among school children and adolescents, and to identify the association of other risk factors over 24 months. A systematic literature search was performed in four electronic databases and via a manual search from inception to 28 July 2022. Independent study selection and screening, data extraction, evaluation of risk of bias using ROBINS-I tool and certainty of evidence with GRADE were performed. Ten cohort studies were included, all of which identified that ECC significantly increased the risk of caries in permanent teeth. Meta-analysis suggested children with ECC were three times more likely to develop caries in their permanent teeth (OR, 3.22; 95% CI 2.80, 3.71; p < 0.001), especially when the lesions were in primary molars and progressed to dentine. However, the certainty of evidence was substantially compromised by serious risk of bias and inconsistency between studies. There were inconsistent findings between socioeconomic or behavioural factors on caries development, which could not be pooled for meta-analyses. ECC significantly increases the likelihood of caries development in permanent teeth. Evidence on the association of socioeconomic and oral health behavioural factors is weak.

Background: Non-pharmacological behavioural interventions (NPBIs) have been employed by dentists to alleviate dental fear and anxiety (DFA) among preschool and school children. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the effectiveness of different NPBIs in reducing DFA among children aged below 12. Method: A comprehensive search was conducted using four electronic databases to identify randomised controlled trials that assess the effectiveness of NPBIs among preschool and school children. Two reviewers independently screened and selected the relevant studies, evaluated the risk of bias, and extracted relevant data for qualitative and quantitative syntheses. Result: A total of 66 articles were included in the study. Except during more invasive dental procedures, the use of distraction techniques was found to result in significantly lower self-rated anxiety, better cooperation, and lower pulse rate compared to the tell–show–do method. However, inconsistent results were reported regarding the efficacy of virtual reality, modelling, visual pedagogies, tell–show–do and other NPBIs in reducing DFA among children. Conclusions: The studies exhibited substantial heterogeneity due to varying age groups, methods of implementing NPBIs, dental treatments performed, and measurement scales employed in the evaluation of DFA.