The relationship between special needs and dental trauma. A systematic review and meta-analysis

Understanding the risk factors for dental injuries is essential to develop prevention strategies. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine whether people with special needs (SN) have a higher incidence of traumatic dental injury (TDI).

Electronic searches were performed with no language or date restrictions in the following databases: PubMed, Lilacs, BBO, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Open Gray. According to the PECOS strategy, observational studies that investigated subjects with and without SN and its association with TDI episodes were included. Quality assessment and bias control were carried out according to Fowkes and Fulton guidelines. A meta-analysis was performed by sub-grouping studies according to the type of SN, with the odds ratio (OR) also being calculated (P ≤ .05). The evidence was quality tested using the GRADE approach.

After titles and abstracts were examined, and full texts were read, 28 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis and 27 in the meta-analysis. Three studies were classified with high methodological quality and the others had methodological problems. No associations were determined between TDI and autism spectrum disorder, epilepsy and mental disability (OR 1.12 [0.70, 1.78], OR 1.28 [0.13, 12.27] and OR 1.04 [0.20, 5.35], respectively, P > .05). A positive association (P < .05) was found between TDI and hyperactivity disorder, cerebral palsy, 21 trisomy, various conditions of SN and in pooled results (OR 2.67 [1.22, 5.87], OR 1.89 [1.06, 3.37], OR 6.18 [2.24, 17.05], OR 1.69 [1.18, 2.41], OR 1.61 [1.16; 2.22], respectively).The certainty of evidence ranged from very low to low.

In general, people with SN had a higher chance of having TDI with very low certainty of evidence. People with ADHD and cerebral palsy had a higher chance of TDI.