Is there an association between past dental visits and the incidence of cancers of the head and neck (HN), upper aerodigestive tract (UADT), and oral cavity?

Data sources PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases.Study selection Papers reporting a primary study with any population, one or both genders specified, participants of any age, incidence of any cancer subsite of HN, and UADT reported as the health outcome, frequency of dental visits/check-ups prior to the diagnosis of one of these cancers (assessed as the exposure), and availability of sufficient data to estimate the measure of association, ie, unadjusted odds ratio (OR) along with its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI).Data extraction and synthesis Two reviewers independently screened the title and abstract of the identified citations. Full texts of citations judged as potentially eligible were acquired by at least one of the two reviewers. Thereafter, both the reviewers used a standardised and pilot-tested form to independently screen every full text for eligibility. Methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the quality assessment tool for quantitative studies developed by the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP)Results After initial search of 1377 studies, thirty-eight articles were included in the analysis for systemic review including 32 case-control and six other design studies not limited to cross-sectional, observational, case-series, and screening. Finally, twenty-six case-control studies were included in the meta-analysis. Subgroup analyses of studies in meta-analysis showed the overall pooled estimate risk was (OR 2.01; 95% CI 1.76 to 2.30, P <0.001). The test for heterogeneity produced Tau square of 0.00, Q = 36.33, I2 = 31.76%, test for overall effect z = 9.24, (P <0.001). No publication bias was observed in the meta analysis. Conclusions Individuals with never/irregular/not frequent dental visits are more likely to be incident cases of HNCs/UADT cancers. Targeted education to alert those at risk about OCs and other HNCs, and the warning signs, and better training coupled with opportunistic oral cavity examinations by dentists could reduce the burden of this disease.