Systematic review suggests a relationship between moderate to late preterm birth and early childhood caries

• Aim The aim was to examine the association between moderate to late preterm birth and the prevalence of early childhood caries. Methods We searched the PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Trials Register databases up to February 28, 2020. Two independent reviewers screened the papers for relevance, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to pool the prevalence of early childhood caries by gestational age. Results The authors identified 14 studies covering 210,691 children. They were published from 2007-2020 and included birth cohorts, cross-sectional, register-based and case-control studies. We assessed eight of them as having low or moderate risk of bias. The median caries prevalence was 48.8% among children born moderate to late preterm compared to 20.5% for those born full term. The pooled overall odds ratio was 1.48 (95% confidence interval 1.16-1.89;P < .001). The certainty of this finding was low due to heterogeneity and inconsistencies across the studies. Conclusion This systematic review and meta-analysis displayed a significantly higher prevalence of early childhood caries in children born moderate to late preterm compared to full term children. The finding suggests that the gestational age should be collected as a risk factor in the paediatric dental records.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Pediatrik (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Pediatrics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

caries

meta-analysis

preterm birth

risk factor

teeth

dental-caries

developmental defects

primary dentition

enamel

children

health

Pediatrics

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)