Association Between Dental Visiting Patterns and Oral Health: Systematic Review

Objectives: To systematically identify, appraise and synthesise longitudinal studies containing evidence on the association between dental visiting patterns and oral health outcomes throughout an individual's life course.
Methods: An electronic search was performed for longitudinal studies containing evidence on the association between patterns of dental attendance and oral health up to March 2nd, 2023 in MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science and CINAHL. The quality of included studies was assessed using relevant Newcastle-Ottawa Scales. The findings were narratively synthesised according to oral health indicators.
Results: Eleven longitudinal studies were identified for the review, mainly from high income countries. These studies differ in study populations, categorisation of dental visiting patterns, oral health measures and number of confounders adjusted for in the analysis; therefore, conducting a meta-analysis was not deemed appropriate. Oral health indicators were classified as clinical and self-reported outcomes. Moderate to high quality studies revealed that regular dental attendance was associated with lower levels of dental caries experience and major tooth loss, as well as better oral health-related quality of life and self-rated oral health status. Inconsistent findings were observed for decayed teeth, and no significant association was found for periodontal conditions.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest an association between dental visiting patterns and key aspects of normative and perceived oral health. Further research is needed to explore the perception and decision-making associated with dental visiting patterns and the care received across a range of country income levels.