OBJECTIVEThis study aimed to systematically evaluate the oral health status of patients suffering from chronic renal failure and undergoing hemodialysis (HD).

METHODSElectronic databases, namely, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data base, PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, were searched until May 2016 for cross-sectional and case-control studies that investigated the oral health status of patients suffering from chronic renal failure and undergoing HD. Two reviewers independently screened the trials, extracted the data, assessed the quality, and conducted a Meta-analysis with RevMan 5.3 in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

RESULTSSixteen studies satisfied the eligibility criteria. Meta-analysis revealed that plaque index (MD=0.62, 95%CI: 0.51-0.72), calculus index (MD=1.09, 95%CI: 0.56-1.63), probing depth (MD=0.63, 95%CI: 0.29-0.98), and attachment loss (MD=0.63, 95%CI: 0.56-0.69) were significantly higher in the patients undergoing HD than in the healthy control group (P<0.01). No significant differences in decayed missing filled teeth (MD=1.12, 95%CI: -1.08-3.32) were observed between the patients undergoing HD and the healthy control group (P=0.32).

CONCLUSIONSThe prevalence of caries in patients undergoing HD is similar to that in the healthy control group. However, these patients are at a higher risk of acquiring periodontal diseases than the healthy control group. Thus, the oral health status of these patients should be further evaluated in clinical treatments.