A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of School Children's Caries Studies in Gulf Cooperation Council States

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence and severity of dental caries school children in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) area, to help the development of systematic approaches for preventive oral care programs in the GCC states and to provide sound information for oral health promotion and public health care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive search to identify both published and unpublished articles concerning relevant studies of dental caries in children aged 6–16 years for their permanent teeth published from 1992 to 2016 with no language and time limit was performed. The search strategies employed electronic databases and incorporated both dental subject headings and free-text term. RESULTS: The overall mean decayed, missing and filled teeth in the permanent teeth was 2.57, and the prevalence was 64.7% in the GCC area. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the studies were conducted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The results may not be a true reflection, and other countries in GCC are urged to study the prevalence and severity of caries in their children population.