What do systematic reviews say?

Dental caries assessment (WHO/clinical diagnostic criteria; caries = DMFT>0) vs None (descriptive prevalence review; subgroup analyses by urban/rural status, country and year)

Dental caries is highly prevalent among children and adolescents in the UAE, ranging from 22% to 99.4% across cross-sectional studies (narrative synthesis; not GRADE-rated).

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  UAE (Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah); nurseries, preschools, schools and dental clinics
  Dental caries prevalence ranged from 22% in public day cares in Sharjah to 99.4% in children attending a pediatric dentistry department in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi across cross-sectional studies; most studies used WHO…
  Studies not reported
  GRADE not reported

Low socioeconomic-class school vs High socioeconomic-class school

Mean DMFT was 2.66 in low socioeconomic-class schools versus 2.10 in high-class schools.

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  Low socioeconomic-class schools
  MEAN 2.66
  1 study · 779 participants
  GRADE not reported

Observed population vs Not applicable

Educational programs were the reported source of dental information for 13% of mothers.

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  Overall
  Prevalence 13
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Observed population vs Not applicable

Tooth wear prevalence was 97.6%.

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  Overall
  Prevalence 97.6
  1 study · 506 participants
  GRADE not reported

Cerebral palsy vs Healthy controls

Gingivitis prevalence was 58.8% among children with cerebral palsy.

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  Overall
  Prevalence 58.8
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Systemic sclerosis (SSc / scleroderma) vs SSc-free individuals (controls)

No statistically significant difference in number of missing teeth between SSc patients and controls (SMD 0.55, CI includes 0); certainty ungraded.

• Oral manifestations of patients with systemic sclerosis: a meta-analysis for case-controlled studies. 2021 All outcomes

  Hospital/clinic-based case-control studies from Asia, America and Europe
  SMD 0.546 [-0.148, 1.241]
  4 studies
  GRADE not reported

Intervention not reported

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  Non-Emirati children (Elamin)
  Mean(SD) 0.75 (1.8)
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Beta-thalassemia major vs Healthy Emirati children

Mean DMFT was 1.49 in children with beta-thalassemia major versus 0.21 in controls.

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  Children with beta-thalassemia major
  MEAN 1.49
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Dental visit because of a problem vs No dental visit in previous year

A problem-driven dental visit was associated with higher odds of severe early childhood caries.

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  Overall
  OR 1.92 [1.49, 2.49]
  1 study · 1036 participants
  GRADE not reported

Intervention not reported

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  Preschoolers (AlKhayat, Dubai private preschools)
  Prevalence 38.5%
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Caries experience vs No caries experience

Caries experience was associated with lower odds of dental erosion.

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  Overall
  OR 0.28 [0.16, 0.51]
  1 study · 403 participants
  GRADE not reported

Observed population vs Not applicable

Relatives were the reported source of dental information for 27% of mothers.

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  Overall
  Prevalence 27
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Observed population vs Not applicable

Mean dmft was 3.07.

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  Overall
  MEAN 3.07 [2.81, 3.34]
  1 study · 540 participants
  GRADE not reported

Clear aligners (Invisalign / thermoformed aligners) vs Fixed appliances

A single study reported a larger decalcification lesion area with aligners versus fixed appliances in adults at 3 months (MD 80.50 pixels, 95% CI 60.52 to 100.48; ungraded).

• Impact of Aligners and Fixed Appliances on Oral Health during Orthodontic Treatment: A Systematic Review and… 2021 All outcomes

  3 months · Adults
  MD 80.50 [60.52, 100.48]
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Observed population vs Not applicable

Dental caries prevalence was 74.1%.

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  Overall
  Prevalence 74.1
  1 study · 540 participants
  GRADE not reported

Less frequent tooth brushing (< twice daily) vs More frequent tooth brushing (>= twice daily)

More frequent tooth brushing was generally protective against caries, though findings were somewhat inconsistent across studies (narrative synthesis; not GRADE-rated).

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  UAE; schools/nurseries (Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah)
  Higher tooth-brushing frequency was protective against caries in Kowash et al. and Hashim et al. (brushing >=twice vs less than daily aRR 0.8, 95% CI 0.64-0.93). A contradictory (non-protective) finding was reported by…
  Studies not reported
  GRADE not reported

Lower family socioeconomic status / income vs Higher socioeconomic position

Evidence on socioeconomic status/income and caries was inconsistent: some studies linked lower income to higher caries while others found no association (narrative synthesis; not GRADE-rated).

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  UAE; schools (Ajman, Dubai)
  Findings were contradictory. Hashim et al. found children from low-income families had higher odds of severe early childhood caries (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.11-1.85), and Ahmad et al. reported significantly higher DMFT in…
  Studies not reported
  GRADE not reported

Observed population vs Not applicable

Tooth brushing less than once daily was reported by 28.3% of females in 2016.

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  Overall
  Prevalence 28.3
  1 study · 24220 participants
  GRADE not reported

Older age vs Younger adults (population mean age <=33.4 years)

Older age was associated with higher DMFT.

• Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade. 2021 All outcomes

  Overall
  Regression coefficient 0.42 [0.27, 0.567]
  1 study · 803 participants
  GRADE not reported

Systemic sclerosis (SSc / scleroderma) vs SSc-free individuals (controls)

No statistically significant difference in bleeding on probing between SSc patients and controls (SMD 1.05, CI includes 0); certainty ungraded.

• Oral manifestations of patients with systemic sclerosis: a meta-analysis for case-controlled studies. 2021 All outcomes

  Hospital/clinic-based case-control studies from Asia, America and Europe
  SMD 1.054 [-0.973, 3.081]
  5 studies
  GRADE not reported