Which are the clinical consequences of Molar Incisor hypomineralization (MIH) in children and adolescents? Systematic review and meta-analysis

• Published in: Clinical oral investigations 2024-07, Vol.28 (7), p.415, Article 415
• Main Authors: Gevert, Mayara Vitorino, Wambier, Letícia Maira, Ito, Larissa Yumi, Feltrin de Souza, Juliana, Chibinski, Ana Cláudia Rodrigues
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Child; Childrens health; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dental caries; Dental Caries - epidemiology; Dental Enamel Hypoplasia - epidemiology; Dentistry; Humans; Hypersensitivity; Medicine; Meta-analysis; Mineralization; Molar Hypomineralization; Population studies; Prevalence; Qualitative research; Review; Statistical analysis; Systematic review; Teenagers; Teeth; Tooth Extraction; Tooth extractions
• ISSN: 1436-3771; 1432-6981; 1436-3771
• DOI: 10.1007/s00784-024-05800-5

Objective This systematic review was conducted to address the following research question: “What are the clinical consequences (outcome) of Molar Incisor Hypomineralization (MIH) (exposure) in children and adolescents (population/patient)?”. Material and Methods After defining the strategy, a search was performed in different databases (MEDLINE via Pubmed, Cochrane Library, BBO, LILACS, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase) and Grey literature in August 2023. Cross-sectional observational studies that identified clinical consequences of MIH (dental caries, post-eruptive structural loss, atypical restorations, hypersensitivity and tooth extraction) were included. The risk of bias was assessed following the Joanna Briggs Institute protocol for cross-sectional studies. Meta-analyses were conducted for each outcome, taking into account the number of patients and teeth. The effect measure considered was the prevalence; random-effects model was adopted. Heterogeneity was assessed using I 2 statistics and prediction intervals (PI). Results A total of 903 studies were identified; 41 were selected for qualitative analysis and 38 for quantitative analysis. Twenty eight studies were classified as presenting uncertain risk of bias, 11 as low risk and 3 as high risk of bias. The prevalence levels, ranked from highest to lowest and considering the tooth and patient units, respectively, were: caries lesions (0.252 – 95% CI 0.158–0.375; 0.512 – 95% CI 0.385–0.639); hypersensitivity (0.286 – 95% CI 0.190–0.407; 0.417 – 95% CI 0.197–0.674), post-eruptive fracture (0.125 – 95% CI 0.099–0.158; 0.257 – 95% CI 0.145–0.412); atypical restorations (0.048 – 95% CI 0.030–0.077; 0.167 – 95% CI 0.096 – 0.274); tooth extraction (0.012 – 95% CI 0.007–0.019; 0.090 – 95% CI 0.019 – 0.331). All meta-analyses resulted in heterogeneity greater than 85%, with the exception of the outcome “tooth extraction” according to the tooth unit (I 2  = 57.83). This heterogeneity may be attributed to factors such as differences in the location where the study was realized, the socioeconomic conditions of the studied population, the asymmetric nature of MIH, and patient age. Conclusion: The most common consequences of MIH are caries lesions, hypersensitivity, and post-eruptive breakdown. (PROSPERO:CRD42020201410).