Can Hemophilia Impact on the Oral Health Conditions of Children and Adolescents? A Systematic Review and Metanalysis

Abstract

Objective:

To analyze if the oral health conditions in children and adolescents are associated with hemophilia (PROSPERO-42020168192).

Material and Methods:

The search strategy was performed in PubMed, Scopus, Lilacs/BBO, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Grey literature databases. Two independent researchers assessed the risk of bias in these studies by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. For the meta-analysis, the clinical conditions data were extracted as numerical variables according to their indexes, such as dental caries experience (dmft/DMFT), gingival condition (Modified Gingival Index - IGM), and oral hygiene (Plaque Index - PI). The quality of the evidence of the meta-analysis was evaluated by the GRADE tool (GRADEproGDT).

Results:

From a total of 431 studies, 27 were included, and 10 were included in the meta-analysis. The studies presented a moderate risk of bias, ranging from 2 to 7 points. The dental caries experience in primary (-0.62; CI95%: -1.68–0.43) and permanent dentitions (-0.05; CI95%: -0.69–0.59), gingival condition (-0.12; CI95%: -0.27–0.03), and oral hygiene (0.36; CI95%: -0.06–0.77) did not differ between the groups.

Conclusion:

Based on studies with very weak evidence, there were no differences in the oral health conditions of children and adolescents with and without hemophilia.

Keywords:
Blood Coagulation Disorders; Study Characteristics; Oral Health