Do Patients with Extrinsic Black Tooth Stains Have a Lower Dental Caries Experience? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Studies have suggested that individuals affected by extrinsic black tooth stains have less dental caries experience in comparison to those without this condition. The aim of the present study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine whether there is scientific evidence demonstrating that extrinsic black stains are a protective factor for the occurrence of dental caries. This systematic review was developed in accordance with the PRISMA statement and the research question was determined using the PECO strategy. Electronic searches were conducted in the PubMed, Science Direct, Virtual Health Library, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases for relevant articles published up to September 2018. All articles included were submitted to an appraisal of methodological quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the data were extracted for meta-analysis. The search strategy resulted in the retrieval of 9,108 publications. After the application of the eligibility criteria, 18 articles were selected for analysis, 13 of which were included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis demonstrated that individuals with extrinsic black stains involving primary (median, MD: –0.78 [–1.09; –0.48]; I² = 44%) and permanent (MD: –0.50 [–0.93; –0.08]; I² = 86%) teeth have a lower dental caries experience in comparison to those without this condition. Patients with extrinsic black tooth stains have a lower dental caries experience in cross-sectional studies.