Non-Cochrane · prognostic · PM42252435
Oral health in migrant population of Germany: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Kosan Deniz, Mao Zhen, Yassine Jamila, et al. · BMC public health · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.1186/s12889-026-27927-8
Findings
Population People living in Germany (children, adolescents and adults)
7 findings
| Migration background (migrants, first and second generation) | Non-migrants (German natives) | Missing teeth (M component) Cross-sectional (single time point) · Germany · Sensitivity analysis excluding Aarabi et al. (age 60+ years) | SMD 0.17 [0.08, 0.26] GRADE not reported 2 studies · 1958 participants |
| Migration background (migrants, first and second generation) | Non-migrants (German natives) | Decayed teeth (D component) Cross-sectional (single time point) · Germany | SMD 0.28 [-0.09, 0.65] Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency 3 studies · 2070 participants |
| Migration background (migrants, first and second generation) | Non-migrants (German natives) | Decayed teeth (D component) Cross-sectional (single time point) · Germany · Sensitivity analysis excluding Aarabi et al. (age 60+ years) | SMD 0.12 [-0.13, 0.37] GRADE not reported 2 studies · 1958 participants |
| Migration background (migrants, first and second generation) | Non-migrants (German natives) | Missing teeth (M component) Cross-sectional (single time point) · Germany | SMD 0.17 [0.08, 0.26] Moderate 3 studies · 2070 participants |
| Migration background (migrants, first and second generation) | Non-migrants (German natives) | Filled teeth (F component) Cross-sectional (single time point) · Germany | SMD 0.02 [-0.6, 0.64] Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency 3 studies · 2070 participants |
| Migration background (migrants, first and second generation) | Non-migrants (German natives) | DMFT index (total) Cross-sectional (single time point) · Germany | SMD 0.4 [0.31, 0.49] Moderate 3 studies · 2070 participants |
| Migration background (migrants, first and second generation) | Non-migrants (German natives) | Filled teeth (F component) Cross-sectional (single time point) · Germany · Sensitivity analysis excluding Aarabi et al. (age 60+ years) | SMD 0.33 [0.24, 0.42] GRADE not reported 2 studies · 1958 participants |
Included primary studies 16
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aarabi 2017 Oral health and access to dental care - a comparison of elderly migrants and non-migrants in Germany. PMID:28277023 | 2018 | this review only | DMFT index (total); Decayed teeth (D component); Missing teeth (M component); Filled teeth (F component) | not extracted yet |
| Bissar 2007a Dental health, received care, and treatment needs in 11- to 13-year-old children with immigrant background in Heidelberg, Germany. PMID:17683326 | 2007 | this review only | DMFT index (total); Decayed teeth (D component); Missing teeth (M component); Filled teeth (F component) | not extracted yet |
| Bissar 2007b Caries prevalence in 11- to 14-year old migrant children in Germany. PMID:18704289 | 2007 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Brand 2015 [Prevention among migrants: Participation, migrant sensitive strategies and programme characteristics]. PMID:25861044 | 2015 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Brzoska 2017 Enabling and Predisposing Factors for the Utilization of Preventive Dental Health Care in Migrants and Non-Migrants in Germany. PMID:28856132 | 2017 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Erdsiek 2017 Oral health behaviour in migrant and non-migrant adults in Germany: the utilization of regular dental check-ups. PMID:28526074 | 2017 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Heinrich-Weltzien 2007 [Dental health in German and Turkish school children--a 10-year comparison]. PMID:17405082 | 2007 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Knopf 2008 [Oral hygiene. KIGGS data on caries preventative behaviour]. PMID:19043760 | 2008 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Kuhnisch 2003 [Comparative study on the dental health of German and immigrant 8- to 10-years olds in the Westphalian Ennepe-Ruhr district]. PMID:12632318 | 2003 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Lieske 2025 Oral health literacy and oral health status of a german adult population with migration background - findings from the MuMi Study. PMID:40066255 | 2025 | this review only | DMFT index (total); Decayed teeth (D component); Missing teeth (M component); Filled teeth (F component) | not extracted yet |
| Marquardt 2016 Health status and disease burden of unaccompanied asylum-seeking adolescents in Bielefeld, Germany: cross-sectional pilot study. PMID:26610271 | 2016 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Spinler 2021 [Oral health literacy of persons with migration background-first results of the MuMi study]. PMID:34212208 | 2021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Ugur 2002 Utilisation of dental services among a Turkish population in Witten, Germany. PMID:12090264 | 2002 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Van Steenkiste 2004a [Access to oral care and attitudes to the dentist by German and Turkish parents]. PMID:14994207 | 2004 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Van Steenkiste 2004b [Prevalence of caries, fissure sealants and filling materials among German children and children of migrants]. PMID:15562346 | 2004 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Zeeb 2004 [Health situation of and health service provided for adult migrants--a survey conducted during school admittance examinations]. PMID:14994205 | 2004 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Children and/or adults with a migration background living in Germany | Migrants in Germany: children, adolescents, adults and elderly (n=16 studies; 3 in meta-analysis) |
| Intervention | Migration background (immigrants and second-generation migrants) | Migration background (immigrant or second generation) |
| Comparison | Non-migrant native German population | Non-migrant native Germans |
| Outcomes | Oral health status (dental caries risk, DMFT, periodontal disease) and dental service utilization (dental check-ups) | DMFT and D, M, F components (meta-analysis, n=3); periodontal health; dental service utilization; oral health literacy (narrative) |
| Study designs | Observational studies (cross-sectional, cohort) with comparative data; RCTs only for baseline data | Cross-sectional studies, one longitudinal study, one cluster RCT (baseline data only), one narrative review, one qualitative study (n=16) |
| Timing | Not specified | Baseline or cross-sectional; one study with 2 years of follow-up |