SynthesisBMC oral health2022
Prevalence of early childhood caries in South Africa: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC oral health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence and associated risk indicators of early childhood caries in Nigeria: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC oral health · 2026Pooled it
- Early childhood caries in Africa: prevalence, determinants, and implications for oral health promotion-an umbrella review.Frontiers in oral health · 2026Pooled it
- Prevalence and risk factors for early childhood caries in North Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC oral health · 2025Pooled it
- Long-Term Effects of a Randomized Maternal Education Trial in Rural Uganda: Implications for Child Oral Health.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2022Trial
- Student Assessments of Early Childhood Caries in Some Informal Settlements of Cape Town: A 10-Year Series of Cross-Sectional Studies.Public health challenges · 2025Article
- Dental anxiety and empathy among undergraduate oral health students in Norway, South Africa and Namibia.Acta odontologica Scandinavica · 2025Article
- Impact of Free Sugar Consumption on Dental Caries: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Children in the United States.Dentistry journal · 2025Article
- Association between early childhood caries and parental educational status among children in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.Frontiers in oral health · 2025Article
- Early childhood caries: Exploring the ethical implications for dental neglect in South Africa.Health SA = SA Gesondheid · 2025Review
- A scoping review of the links between early childhood caries and clean water and sanitation: the Sustainable Development Goal 6.BMC oral health · 2024Article
- The prevalence of dental caries and its associated factors among preschool children in Huizhou, China: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in oral health · 2024Article
- The proposed need for integrated maternal and child oral health policy: A case of South Africa.Frontiers in oral health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe prevalence of Early Childhood Caries (ECC) in South Africa was last determined in 2002 in a national survey. Since then only few scattered studies were conducted across pocketed communities in the country. There appears to be an increasing trend in dental caries prevalence in South Africa. Since South Africa has one of the highest burden of HIV in the world, less focus was spent on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), it was only when HIV patients developed NCD's did the government start evaluating NCDs. However, oral health is still not given enough attention within the health sphere. It is the hope of this systematic review to showcase the extent of dental caries amongst the future leaders of our country.
objectivesThe systematic review presents the prevalence and severity of early childhood caries between age groups and provinces in South Africa from 1975 to 2014.
designA systematic review of prevalence was performed. SETTINGS AND
participantsAll studies performed on children under the age of six who lived in South Africa were eligible to be included. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The prevalence of ECC and the dmft scores were the primary and secondary outcome measures.
resultsTwenty-one studies were included in the present review. The overall prevalence was 44.94% (95% confidence interval (C.I.) 39.73-50.15%) and the overall dmft score was 2.422 (95% C.I. 2.148-2.696).
conclusionsThe dmft score was the lowest in the Limpopo Province and highest in the Eastern Cape. ECC prevalence increased post-apartheid possibly on account of lifestyle changes due to the exodus from rural to urban and peri-urban areas. Registration The protocol of this systematic review was registered with PROSPERO, CRD42018112161, in November 2018.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.