The prevalence of molar incisor hypomineralization: evidence from 70 studies

Abstract

Objective: A growing number of studies have investigated the prevalence of Molar Incisor Hypomineralization (MIH) around the world. The aim of this study was to systematically estimate the pooled prevalence of MIH.

Methods: A comprehensive literature research was completed in English and Chinese databases. Random effect models were used to calculate the pooled prevalence. To address the heterogeneity, meta-regression, and sensitivity analyzes were conducted. Publication bias was estimated by trim and fill method.

Results: Seventy eligible studies were included. The pooled prevalence of MIH was 14.2% globally. In subgroup analysis, South America (18.0%, 95% CI: 13.8-22.2) and Spain (21.1%, 95% CI: 17.7-24.6) had the highest prevalence. There was no significant difference between males (14.3%, 95% CI: 12.0-16.6) and females (14.4%, 95% CI: 12.8-15.9). The prevalence of MIH among children 10 years of age or younger (15.1%, 95% CI: 12.1-18.2) was much higher than the prevalence of MIH among older children (12.1%, 95% CI: 8.0-16.3). Sample size explained 15.7% heterogeneity.

Conclusion: MIH has a high incidence globally, especially among children <10 years old. It is, therefore, imperative to develop more appropriate dental healthcare strategies to care for these children and to identify the etiology of MIH to prevent it occurring.