Association between Oral Hygiene and Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Emerging evidence has linked poor oral hygiene to metabolic syndrome (MetS), but previously, no summary of evidence has been conducted on the topic. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the associations of oral hygiene status and care with MetS. A systematic search of the PubMed and Web of Science databases from inception to 17 March 2021, and examination of reference lists was conducted to identify eligible observational studies. A random-effects model was applied to pool the effects of oral hygiene status and care on MetS. Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria and had sufficient methodological quality. Good oral hygiene status (OR = 0.30 (0.13-0.66); I² = 91%), frequent tooth brushing (OR = 0.68 (0.58-0.80); I² = 89%), and frequent interdental cleaning (OR = 0.89 (0.81-0.99); I² = 27%) were associated with a lower risk of MetS. Only one study examined the association between dental visits and MetS (OR = 1.10 (0.77-1.55)). Our findings suggested that there might be inverse associations of oral hygiene status, tooth-brushing frequency, and interdental cleaning with MetS. However, substantial heterogeneity for tooth-brushing frequency and inconsistent results for oral hygiene status in subgroup analyses were observed. There was insufficient evidence for the association between dental visits and MetS. Further longitudinal studies are needed to investigate these associations.

Keywords: dental plaque; dental visit; interdental cleaning; metabolic syndrome; oral bacteria; oral hygiene; tooth brushing.

Figure 1

PRISMA flow diagram of the literature search and study selection [33]. MetS, metabolic syndrome.

Figure 2

Meta-analysis of the associations of (a) oral hygiene status, (b) tooth-brushing frequency, and (c) interdental cleaning with metabolic syndrome.