Abstract
Dental caries and periodontal disease represent a health problem and a social cost for the entire population, and in particular for socio-economically disadvantaged individuals who are less resistant to disease. The aim of this review is to estimate the prevalence and severity of the two dental pathologies, caries and periodontal disease, in the different classes of socio-economically disadvantaged subjects and to understand which of them are most affected. A systematic search of the literature was performed in MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE and Web of Science after establishing a suitable search strategy for each database, using keywords related to socio-economically vulnerable classes and health outcomes. Socio-economically disadvantaged individuals are more susceptible to tooth decay and periodontal disease (with relative tooth loss) than non-vulnerable people. Additionally, when multiple vulnerabilities are combined in the same subject, these oral diseases worsen. There is no type of vulnerability more affected by caries and periodontitis than others, since overall they all have severe disease indices. The data from this systematic literature review might be useful for health policy makers looking to allocate more resources and services to socially disadvantaged individuals, resulting in making them more resilient to oral disease due to their social marginalization.
Highlights
IntroductionPublisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
The prevalence of caries was expressed in the six types of disadvantaged subjects, starting in the description with those most affected, such as prisoners with 77%
The increased risk of dental–periodontal diseases was a finding found in every type of social vulnerability and seemed to worsen in the presence of pooled vulnerabilities
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The lack of equality in economic development and social progress between countries, political instability, wars and consequent migratory phenomena, ecological calamities and pandemic diseases affect the socio-economic status of populations worldwide, with ever newer and wider categories of disadvantaged groups [1]. Socio-economically disadvantaged individuals are found in every social context, in both industrialized and developing countries [2]. One of the most common aspects of socio-economically disadvantaged people is poverty, with shared features such as low education [3], unemployment, strenuous and precarious jobs [4], uncertain housing [5], lack of health insurance [6], immigration [7] and incarceration [8]. Other conditions that cause social vulnerability are related to the ebb and flow of life itself, such as childhood, adolescence [9], old age [10] and pregnancy [11]
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