ArticleBMC oral health2015
A dental myth bites the dust--no observable relation between the incidence of dental abscess and the weather and lunar phase: an ecological study.
Article in BMC oral health, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between weather variables and fascial space infections of the head and neck: a retrospective chart review.BMC oral health · 2025Observational
- Article
- [Typical emergencies in otorhinolaryngology-a monocentric analysis of the seasonal course].HNO · 2022Article
- Dependence of odontogenic abscess on meteorological parameters: truth or myth?Clinical oral investigations · 2020Article
- Following in the footsteps of Hippocrates-interrelation between the incidence of odontogenic abscess and meteorological parameters.Clinical oral investigations · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAnecdotal reports assert a relationship between weather and lunar activity and the odontogenic abscess (OA) incidence, but this relationship has not been validated. Therefore, the present study investigated the relationship between oral pain caused by OA and a variety of meteorological parameters and cyclic lunar activity.
methodsThe records of all dental emergency patients treated at the AllDent Zahnzentrum Emergency Unit in Munich, Germany during 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with oral pain who were diagnosed with OA and treated surgically (n = 1211) were included in the analysis. The OA incidence was correlated to daily meteorological data, biosynoptic weather analysis, and cyclic lunar activity.
resultsThere was no seasonal variation in the OA incidence. None of the meteorological parameters, lunar phase, or biosynoptic weather class were significantly correlated with the OA incidence, except the mean barometric pressure, which was weakly correlated (rho = -0.204). The OA incidence showed a decreasing trend as barometric pressure increased (p < 0.001). On multiple linear regression, the barometric pressure accounted for approximately 4% of the OA incidence.
conclusionThere is no evidence supporting a correlation between the incidence of odontogenic abscess and the weather and lunar activities.
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Registered trials
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