Facilitators and Challenges to Maintaining Oral Health for Indigenous Communities Globally: A Qualitative Systematic Review.

Globally, Indigenous Peoples experience pervasive oral health inequities due to a complex interplay of social determinants of health including the sustained effects of colonisation, racism, and intergenerational disruption to Indigenous communities. This qualitative systematic review aimed to synthesise evidence related to facilitators and challenges that affect the ability of global Indigenous communities to maintain oral health. Two independent reviewers searched PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and Embase. Qualitative studies including illustrations from Indigenous Peoples regarding facilitators and challenges to oral health maintenance were considered. Included articles were critically appraised. The search identified 4,247 articles eligible for inclusion; 22 articles were included. Challenges and facilitators were synthesised across child, carer, community, and service levels during the meta-aggregation. The prioritisation of integrated oral health services, programs, and research that encompass multiple factors at various levels of influence are needed to strengthen the oral health of Indigenous communities.