Oral Health and Its Effect on the Academic Performance of Children and Adolescents.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this systematic review was to verify whether child and adolescent oral health affected academic performance.

METHODS

A literature search conducted in March 2017 on PubMed, Lilacs, Web of Science, and Scopus databases identified 2,009 papers, six of which were included in the final review. Quality appraisal and risk of bias were evaluated using the quality assessment tool for observational cohort and cross-sectional studies.

RESULTS

Two papers were classified as being of good quality, one as fair, and three as poor. In four publications, oral health conditions were measured by taking only dental caries into account, while in two others treatment needs and dental trauma were also considered. Although four papers concluded that children's academic performance and poor oral health were associated, the results were not considered reliable because of the high risk of bias. The two papers classified as being of good quality did not show an association between oral health and academic performance, unless mediated by socioeconomic factors.

CONCLUSION

Further well-designed studies are required to demonstrate whether children's oral health can have a negative influence on their academic performance.