Periodontal health status in systemic sclerosis patients: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the periodontal health of systemic sclerosis patients compared with non-systemic sclerosis controls. Materials and methods: Online databases were searched for eligible studies on February 24, 2023. The primary outcomes of interest in systemic sclerosis patients and controls included the clinical attachment level, periodontal probing depth, recession depth, plaque index, bleeding on probing score, gingival index, number of teeth with periodontitis, prevalence of periodontitis and gingivitis, and extent and severity of periodontitis. Results: Fourteen studies met inclusion criteria and were incorporated in the qualitative and quantitative analysis. In comparison with the controls, systemic sclerosis patients had a higher prevalence of periodontitis (OR = 7.63 (1.74–33.50), p = 0.04, I2 = 69%), including more severe forms of periodontitis (OR = 6.68 (3.39–13.15), p = 0.85, I2 = 0%), as well as higher periodontal probing depth ((0.88 (0.45–1.31), p = 0.02, I2 = 99%)), clinical attachment level (1.22 (0.8–1.64), p = 0.003, I2 = 98%), and plaque presence (0.83 (0.13–1.53), p = 0.03, I2 = 96%). There was no statistically significant difference in gingival inflammation (1.14 (0.07–2.21), p = 0.04, I2 = 98%). Conclusions: The systematic review and the meta-analysis showed that systemic sclerosis patients suffer from worse periodontal health than non-systemic sclerosis individuals.