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Updated: Feb 27, 2026
Robust Ligature-Induced Model of Murine Periodontitis for the Evaluation of Oral Neutrophils
Published on: January 21, 2020
The association between oral hygiene and periodontitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Attawood Lertpimonchai1,2, Sasivimol Rattanasiri1, Sakda Arj-Ong Vallibhakara1
1Section for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Objective:
Dental plaque accumulation and inadequate personal oral hygiene (OH) are known major risk factors of periodontitis. Nevertheless, the magnitude of their effects has not yet been the subject of a meta-analysis.
Material And Methods:
The Medline and Scopus databases were searched up to May 2016. Observational studies were eligible if they assessed associations between OH and periodontitis in adult subjects. A multivariate random-effects meta-analysis was used to pool the effects of fair/poor OH versus good OH on periodontitis across studies. The associations between oral care habits and periodontitis were also assessed.
Results:
A total of 50 studies were eligible; 15 were used for pooling the effect of fair OH versus good OH and poor OH versus good OH on periodontitis, with pooled odds ratios (ORs) of 2.04 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.65-2.53] and 5.01 (95% CI: 3.40-7.39), respectively. Eleven studies examined oral care habits measured according to toothbrushing regularity and dental visit frequency; pooled ORs of 0.66 (95% CI: 0.47-0.94) and 0.68 (95% CI: 0.47-0.98) were obtained, respectively.
Conclusions:
Fair to poor OH increases the risk of periodontitis by two- to five-fold. This risk can be reduced by regular toothbrushing and dental visits.
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