76Past dental visits and incidence of head and neck cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background The aim of this study was to conduct a quantitative assessment of any independent association between past dental visits/check-ups and incidence of cancers of HN/upper aero-digestive tract (UADT) and oral cavity worldwide. Methods PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases were searched for all observational studies published until August 2017 that assessed an association of past dental visits/dental check-ups among the incident cases of HNC/UADT cancers. Three different meta-analyses were conducted: two based on the incident cancer reported in the studies (HNCs/cancers of UADT and oral cavity); another included all studies irrespective of the type of cancer reported with the frequency of past dental visits as subgroups. Results Sixty-two articles were reviewed in full, but only 38 were eligible for inclusion. Under the random effects model, odds of past never/irregular/ not frequent dental visits were greater in HNC cases and oral cancer cases as compared to the hospital based/ population-based controls [HNCs-unadjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.24; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.89 to 2.65) and (oral cancers—OR 1.93; 95% CI 1.47 to 2.52]. There was no publication bias in our study. Conclusion This systematic review and meta-analysis indicates that individuals with never/irregular/not frequent dental visits are more likely to be incident cases of HNCs/UADT cancers. Key message Regular/frequent dental visits, at least annually, can aid in reducing the public health burden of head and neck cancers (HNCs) by facilitating earlier detection of the disease.