Are children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis at lower risk of caries?

DATA SOURCES

The Medline, Embase and Web of Science databases were searched.

STUDY SELECTION

Human clinical trials, evaluation studies and systematic reviews related to dental caries prevalence in children and adolescents with CF under age 18 years were included.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Standard date items were extracted and risk of bias was assessed using adapted criteria from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. A qualitative synthesis was conducted.

RESULTS

Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria, 12 studies were considered as being at high risk of bias and three as medium risk. Ten studies concluded that children with CF had significantly lower caries prevalence than control children, while three studies reported that children with CF had higher caries prevalence, and two studies found no difference by CF status. All of the studies had limitations that may bias the results.

CONCLUSIONS

While children with CF may be at lower risk for dental caries, adolescents with CF may not be at lower caries than those without CF. Additional research is needed to evaluate a potentially flawed paradigm regarding caries risk in children and adolescents with CF.