Community-Based Periodontal Disease Prevention Programs: A Schematic Assessment and Meta-Analysis of Effectiveness and Future Directions under Community Medicine and Dentistry
Background: The prevalence of periodontal disease in the general population is still an important issue in public health, particularly among groups with low access to preventive treatments. The current meta-analysis was intended to determine the efficacy of community-based periodontal disease preve...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
ziauddin University
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Pakistan Journal of Medicine and Dentistry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ojs.zu.edu.pk/pjmd/article/view/3793 |
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| Summary: | Background: The prevalence of periodontal disease in the general population is still an important issue in public health, particularly among groups with low access to preventive treatments. The current meta-analysis was intended to determine the efficacy of community-based periodontal disease prevention programmes in enhancing clinical periodontal outcomes, namely, Plaque Index (PI), Gingival Index (GI), Bleeding on probing (BOP), and Pocket probing depth (PPD).
Methods: The literature was searched using PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar (2012-2025). Community-based interventions that targeted the aspects of education, behavioral change, or preventative care were eligible. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the Newcastle Ottawa for Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and Observational studies, respectively. The certainty of evidence was evaluated with the GRADE criteria. Meta-analyses were completed based on a random-effects model, and heterogeneity was evaluated by means of I2 statistics.
Results: Twelve studies were enrolled in this study. In pooled analysis, there was a significant improvement in Plaque Index (SMD = -1.12; 95% CI: -1.59 to -0.64) and Gingival Index (SMD = -0.89; 95% CI: -1.35 to -0.43) after community-based interventions. In the case of Bleeding on Probing, the effect was not significant (SMD = 0.96; 95% CI: -1.66 to 3.59), whereas PPD displayed significant improvement (SMD = -0.62; 95% CI: -1.09 to -0.14).
Discussion: Periodontal programs based on communities are practical in lowering PI, GI, and PPD. In spite of the uneven results of BOP, the evidence as a whole favors the inclusion of such programs as components of oral health strategies.
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| ISSN: | 2313-7371 2308-2593 |