SynthesisBMC oral health2026
Barriers to dental service utilization in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC oral health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 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.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Parental Reports of Oral Health Behaviours and Dental Caries in Romanian Children and Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- A Theory-Based Digital Intervention to Improve Maternal Oral Health Behaviors for Young Children: Quasi-Experimental Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Article
- Awareness of Oral Health and Dental Care Practices among Children with Endocrine Disorders and their Caregivers at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria.Nigerian medical journal : journal of the Nigeria Medical AssociationReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOral health is important for overall well-being, as it affects a person’s ability to speak and eat. However, the use of dental services is often limited by factors such as cost, transportation, and fear. This systematic review and meta-analysis study aims to assess the barriers that limit the use of dental services among children. MATERIALS AND
methodsThe study’s eligibility criteria included cross-sectional studies published in English up to August 2024 that reported parental perceptions of the barriers to dental service use among children. This systematic review follows the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. The Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the included articles. For the meta-analysis, random-effects models were conducted, and forest plots were used to present the results.
resultsThree databases were searched: PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. A total of 794 titles were screened, and 11 studies were included in the final analysis. The primary outcome was the percentage of the children who did not utilize dental services due to cost, transportation, and fear. Among these included studies, 27% of parents identified cost as a barrier to their children’s use of dental services (95% CI: 0.12–0.46). An additional 14% of parents reported fear as a barrier (95% CI: 0.02–0.35), and 7% of parents reported transportation as a barrier (95% CI: 0.01–0.16).
conclusionThis systematic review and meta-analysis study identifies cost as the highest reported barrier by parents regarding dental service utilization by their children. It may be recommended to raise awareness about the importance of oral health and address these barriers by formulating targeted policies and healthcare strategies.
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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.