Background: Nontraumatic dental conditions (NTDC) that made children attending to emergency departments (EDs) of tertiary hospitals can put significant financial and time strain on hospitals.
Aim: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to calculate the prevalence of paediatric presentations to EDs of tertiary hospitals for NTDC and describe the characteristics of these presentations.
Design: A systematic search strategy using PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases was performed to identify studies quantifying NTDC presentations to EDs of tertiary hospitals from inception through to July 2022. Eligible studies were critically appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist for studies reporting prevalence.
Results: The search identified 31 099 studies, from which 14 were found to meet the inclusion criteria. A random effects model was used for meta-analysis, and the prevalence of NTDC reported through EDs of tertiary hospitals ranged from 52.3% to 77.9%.
Conclusions: Nontraumatic dental conditions, which may be preventable when caused by dental caries, made up a high proportion of dental visits to tertiary hospital EDs. Public health initiatives should be considered to reduce the burden of NTDC on EDs.
Keywords: dental infections; emergency department; hospital; nontraumatic dental injuries; paediatric dentistry.
© 2023 The Authors. International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry published by BSPD, IAPD and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.