Oral Health Status And Oral Health Related Quality of Life in Children With Congenital Heart Disease-A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis.

AIM: The aim of this systematic review was to assess oral health status and oral health related quality (OHRQoL) in children with congenital heart disease (CHD), and to compare the outcomes with children with no systemic diseases. The review primarily focuses on the impact of brushing habits and caries experience on Oral Health related quality of life (OHRQoL) in children with CHD. METHODOLOGY AND RESULT: A comprehensive search of studies published between the timeline of 2004 and 2024 was conducted using PRISMA guidelines. Eleven studies met inclusion criteria for systematic review while ten contributed to the meta-analysis. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed independently by two reviewers using JBI and QATSDD tools.The results showed poor oral health consistently among CHD children, including higher dmft/DMFT scores, compromised oral hygiene, and higher prevalence of enamel defects. The mean difference for caries and oral health indices was 1.52 (dmft/DMFT scores), demonstrating significantly poorer outcomes than systemically healthy counterparts, although neither of these both groups demonstrated optimal oral health status. Behavioural and socioeconomic factors contributed to risk and CHD children showed nearly thrice higher odds of inadequate brushing habits or caries-associated behaviours (OR 3.24, I2 = 0%). OHRQoL was negatively affected in most studies in children with CHD. CONCLUSION: Children with CHD experience significantly higher compromised oral health and OHRQoL compared to systemically healthy peers. These findings highlight the need for integrated dental preventive care and stronger parental education to improve overall wellbeing.