Dental Caries Rehabilitation and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Children, Adolescents, and Families: An Updated Systematic Review.

Purpose: To conduct a systematic review of the literature relating the influence of dental caries rehabilitation (DCR) on the oral health- related quality of life (OHRQoL) of children, adolescents, and families. Methods: Six databases, grey literature, Google Scholar, and manual search were accessed. Eligibility criteria (PICO) were outlined: P (population)-children, adolescents, and family; I (intervention)-DCR; C (comparison)- OHRQoL before and after DCR; O (outcome)-OHRQoL status after DCR. Two investigators independently applied the eligibility criteria, extracted qualitative data, and assessed the risk of bias. For quantitative data, a meta-analysis was conducted using the RevMan 5.4 program. The certainty of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE system. Results: Of 2,432 records, 35 were included, totaling 3,358 participants and 11 types of instruments. A total of 25 studies exhibited good methodological quality. The meta-analysis detected improvements in OHRQoL after DCR for children aged one to nine years (P<0.001; 95 percent confidence interval [95% CI] equals 1.47 [0.90 to 2.03]), four to nine years (P<0.001; 95% CI equals 1.23 [0.99 to 1.46]), and eight to 10 years (P<0.001; 95% equals CI 0.76 [0.46 to 1.06]), adolescents aged 11 to 15 years (P=0.03; 95% CI equals 0.75 [0.07 to 1.44]), and family from children aged one to nine years (P<0.001; 95% CI equals 1.02 [0.56 to 1.49]). However, the certainty of evidence was very low. Conclusions: Dental caries rehabilitation was associated with an improved oral health-related quality of life for children and adolescents aged one to 15 years and families with children aged one to nine years. This influence highlights the potential benefits of DCR interventions in reducing the negative effects of dental issues on daily life, although further research with higher-quality evidence is needed to strengthen these findings.