SynthesisBMC oral health2025
Socioeconomic status and dental service utilization among children and adolescents: systematic reviews and meta analysis.
Synthesis in BMC oral health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Exploratory Grouping Along a Shared Oral-Health Burden Continuum in Children and Adolescents: An Age-Stratified Cluster Analysis.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- Patterns of Dental Interventions Across Tooth Position, Age, and Sex: A Retrospective Real-World Clinical Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Influence of Rural and Urban Environments on Lifestyle, Dietary Patterns, and Oral Health Among Adolescents in Mallorca: A Cross-Sectional Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Cross-cultural adaptation of Caregiver oral health knowledge questionnaire and its association with oral health status among Vietnamese children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of public health research · 2026Article
- Evolving Trends in Dental Services in Aging Japan: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis Using Nationwide Data from Fiscal Years 2016 to 2023.Dentistry journal · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundDental health and care among children and adolescents are a major neglected area of public health, leading to both physical and mental health consequences in the long term. Several demographics, economic, and social factors influence dental service utilization, with Socio-Economic Status (SES) being a significant determinant. SES plays an important role in the utilization of dental services for children and adolescents. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to explore the association between SES and dental service utilization in this population.
methodsUsing the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, we searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus for relevant articles published between January 2000 and September 2024. We selected global studies that examined the association between SES and dental service utilization among children and adolescents. Different subgroup analysis based on socioeconomic indicators (household income, parental educational level and/ or occupational level, household assets, SES index, and annual household consumption expenditure), economic classification of the country (high, upper-middle, or lower-middle), nature of the dental insurance system and type of outcome measure. Pooled Odd Ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for the outcome using a random-effects model. Furthermore, meta-regression and sensitivity analysis were conducted to identify the sources for heterogeneity.
resultsA total of 48 studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. The meta-analysis revealed that children and adolescents from higher SES were about twice as likely to utilize dental services (OR = 2.10, 95% CI: 1.32-2.89) compared to those from lower SES backgrounds. The subgroup analysis indicated that various factors influenced the association between SES and dental service utilization among children and adolescents. These included specific SES indicators-household income (OR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.37-1.94), parental occupation and/or education level (OR = 3.30, 95% CI: 1.12-5.47), and household assets (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.15-1.78)-as well as the economic classification of the country, with higher-income countries (OR = 2.57, 95% CI: 1.24-3.90) and upper-middle-income countries (OR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.26-1.78) showing stronger associations. The type of dental insurance system also influenced the outcomes, with significant associations found in countries with universal coverage (OR = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.19-2.26), means-tested systems (OR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.40-2.00), and mixed public-private systems (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.09-1.85). Additionally, the type of outcome measure also played a role, with recent dental service use (OR = 2.21, 95% CI: 1.18-3.23) and preventive dental service use (OR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.19-2.84) demonstrating significant effects.
conclusionThe findings provide evidence that children and adolescents with low SES are associated with lower utilization of dental services. Interventions focused on these groups targeting specific barriers to care are needed to improve equitable dental service utilization.
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