Systematic review and meta-analysis on global prevalence of tooth fracture amongst visually impaired individuals

Abstract

Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) are a significant concern affecting oral health status, and visually impaired people are more prone to these injuries than their counterparts. This systematic review aimed to determine the overall prevalence of TDIs across the globe. A systematic search was conducted in electronic databases for the studies from inception till 31 December 2021. Cross-reference of the selected manuscripts was also searched and handsearching was done for the studies whose full text was not available through the electronic search. Grey literature was also searched for the studies according to the relevance of this review. Studies published in the English language were able to be translated into the English Language. For the meta-analysis, studies reporting the prevalence of tooth fractures were included. Studies were assessed for quality with the help of the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool for studies reporting prevalence data, and the studies were categorised into high/medium/low quality. The random effects model was used for performing a meta-analysis of dental trauma prevalence as the heterogeneity between the studies was high. The search strategy yielded 167 manuscripts after screening through titles and abstracts, full text and removing duplicates. In the end, 27 manuscripts were included in a systematic review and meta-analysis according to the pre-set eligibility criteria. Through meta-analysis, the pooled prevalence for all studies shows an overall prevalence of tooth fractures to be 31.55%. The present review has emphasised the prevalence of dental trauma amongst visually impaired individuals. Sighting the high prevalence of dental trauma amongst this subgroup of the population, there is an urgent need for both comprehensive and incremental dental care for this subgroup of the population. Hence, oral health education should be provided to visually impaired people, parents and caretakers regarding the prevention and availability of treatment for tooth fractures.