Dental Caries Experience in Older Adults With Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed whether individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) have higher dental caries rates than those without PD.

Seven electronic databases and gray literature sources were systematically searched for observational studies comparing dental caries between individuals with and without PD. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Meta-analyses of continuous data were performed, reporting mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The strength of evidence was appraised using the GRADE framework.

Of 389 retrieved records, 10 studies were included, comprising 1726 individuals (573 with PD; 1153 controls). All studies employed a cross-sectional design with a control group and exhibited a moderate risk of bias. Meta-analyses revealed no significant differences in the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index (k = 5) (MD = -0.30; 95% CI = -5.18-4.57) or untreated dental caries (k = 4) (MD = 0.73; 95% CI = -1.66-3.12). The strength of evidence was classified as low.

To date, very-low-certainty evidence does not demonstrate a statistically significant difference in dental caries experience between older adults with and without PD. These findings should be interpreted cautiously and should not be taken as evidence that PD is unrelated to current or future dental caries susceptibility.