Oral Health-Related Quality of Life among Asylum Seekers and Refugees: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Asylum seekers and refugees (ASRs) often experience poorer oral health outcomes than the most disadvantaged populations in their host countries. Limited information is available on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of ASRs. This systematic review synthesized existing research on OHRQoL among ASRs populations. A systematic search was conducted in EBSCOhost (Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source), PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar Advanced Search, without language restrictions. Two researchers independently performed the study selection and data extraction, with any discrepancies resolved through discussion with a third researcher. The citations and references of the included studies were also scrutinized to identify additional relevant literature. The inclusion criteria encompassed experimental or observational studies that evaluated OHRQoL among ASRs using at least one OHRQoL tool. Out of 141 identified, 10 studies met the inclusion criteria. All included studies primarily examined refugee populations, and none focused exclusively on asylum seekers without refugee status. These studies, published between 2014 and 2025, were conducted in United States, Turkey, India, New Zealand, Norway, Jordan, Northern Greece, Austria, and South Australia, with 1844 participants aged 4 to 76 years. Five out of ten studies (50%) measured OHRQoL by using the Oral Health Impact Profile-14. Most of the refugees were from Syria, and Arabic-language OHRQoL tools were the most commonly used (33.3%, 7/21). Physical pain domain emerged as the most frequently impacted domain of OHRQoL, ranging from 28.8% to 70.4%, across the included studies. This review highlights that refugees experience substantial impairments in OHRQoL, with the physical pain domain being the most affected. No studies on OHRQoL focusing exclusively on asylum seekers without refugee status are currently available, highlighting the need for future research to address this evidence gap.