Clinical efficacy and safety of anthroposophic therapies in dentistry: a systematic review

Abstract

Integrative and complementary practices have been incorporated into healthcare in Brazil, including approaches applied to dentistry. Among them, anthroposophic dentistry is presenting increasing clinical interest, although its evidence base remains poorly established. To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of anthroposophic therapies applied to dental patients. This systematic review followed the recommendations of the PRISMA 2020. It included clinical studies employing anthroposophic interventions in dentistry compared to conventional treatments, other integrative practices, or placebo. PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO, and LILACS databases were searched, as well as the gray literature (ProQuest), without any restriction on date or language. Two independent reviewers performed study selection, data extraction, and methodological quality assessment using Joanna Briggs Institute tools. The review identified 7,988 records. After screening and full-text reading, no studies met the eligibility criteria. The main reasons for exclusion included the absence of an anthroposophic intervention applied to dentistry, inadequate design, or outcomes inconsistent with the research question. No studies evaluating the clinical efficacy or safety of anthroposophic therapies in dentistry were found. The lack of evidence demonstrates a significant gap in this field, underscoring the urgent need for well-designed primary studies that support the use of these practices based on scientific rigor.