DOES THE USE OF SMARTPHONES CAUSE GENOTOXIC AND CYTOTOXIC EFFECTS TO ORAL EPITHELIUM? A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WITH META-ANALYSIS

Abstract

The use of the mobile device is based on radiofrequency waves, an electromagnetic wave type. To verify if cellular damage occurs, the micronucleus test was developed, aiming to identify an increase in the frequency of mutations in cells that are exposed to a varied range of agents. Objective: This study aims to answer the following question: Could the nonionizing radiation emitted by mobile telephone devices cause genotoxic and/or cytotoxic effects in the cells present in the oral mucosa, from microscopic observation by the micronucleus test? Study Design: Three stages were followed: defining the objective, tracing the search method (PICO), selecting articles, and extracting data. The databases consulted were: MEDLINE, PubMed (AllDatabases, MeSH), Scopus, LILACS, Google academic, PROSPERO, and COCHRANE using the Boolean operators Persons, Smartphone, Mutagenicity Tests, and Mouth, based on MeSH terms. Results: A total of 396 articles were found, 323 abstracts were analyzed, 312 abstracts were excluded, and w6 full texts and 6 studies were included, according to the table of scientific evidence (grade 5). Conclusion: Our study revealed that there is no occurrence of genotoxic effects; nonetheless, there is a suggestion of occurrence of cytotoxic effects caused by exposure to electromagnetic fields of radiofrequency emitted by mobile phones, especially in case of prolonged exposure.