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Review
. 2023 Jan 18:20:4.
eCollection 2023.

Association between tooth loss and risk of occurrence of oral cancer - A systematic review and meta-analysis

Noopur Gonde  1 , Surekha Rathod  1 , Abhay Kolte  1 , Vrushali Lathiya  1 , Suresh Ughade  2
Affiliations
Review

Association between tooth loss and risk of occurrence of oral cancer - A systematic review and meta-analysis

Noopur Gonde et al. Dent Res J (Isfahan). .

Abstract

Background: Periodontitis, the second most common reason for tooth loss in adults, is a chronic inflammatory condition that increases the prevalence of cancer by inhibiting apoptosis and promoting tumor cell growth. However, it is still debatable if tooth loss is an important risk factor in oral cancer (OC). The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the relationship between tooth loss and the probability of developing head-and-neck cancer and also to see if there is an association between tooth loss, periodontitis, and the risk of OC.

Materials and methods: Studies that depicted a link between tooth loss and OC (till 2017) were searched from online databases accompanied by a thorough manual search of relevant journals. Data were collected from eligible studies, and meta-analysis was carried out using the Meta-Analysis software. The effect of various inclusions was assessed by sensitivity and subgroup analysis. Publication bias was also evaluated.

Results: The meta-analysis consisted of 15 publications. When the number of teeth lost was counted, there was significant variability (I2 = 98.7%, P = 0.0001). When more than 15 teeth were missing in a subgroup analysis, there was a 2.4 times greater risk of OC (odds ratio: 2.496, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.067-3.015, P = 0.001) with no heterogeneity (I2 = 0.00%, 95% CI for I2 = 0.00-68.98). Subgroup analysis revealed that there was no evidence of publication bias.

Conclusion: It was concluded that tooth loss can increase the OC risk by nearly 2 folds. However, large-scale population-based studies are needed to substantiate the findings.

Keywords: Missing teeth; oral cancer; oral malignancy; periodontal disease; tooth loss.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors of this manuscript declare that they have no conflicts of interest, real or perceived, financial or nonfinancial in this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of study selection process according to PRISMA guideline. PRISMA: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot of the studies showing association between tooth loss and OC risk. OC: oral cancer.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Funnel plot of the studies showing association between tooth loss and oral cancer risk.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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