Índices poblacionales y su relación con la prevalencia de enfermedades bucodentales: Revisión sistemática

We aimed to conduct a systematic review to explore the relationship between population indices and the prevalence of oral diseases. We searched (EBSCO host, PubMed, Sciencedirect) for articles published between 2020 and 2024 in Spanish and English. Four articles that met the following inclusion criteria were selected: original research articles, open-source articles, research based on secondary data, related to population indices and oral diseases. The process to select the articles was very exhaustive and key data were extracted. The systematic review identified that economic inequality, measured by the Gini index, was significantly related to some oral diseases, such as dental caries, especially among vulnerable populations. On the contrary, periodontal disease showed a less direct association with economic inequality. However, contextual factors contributed to development of this disease. It was also evident that members of families with low income or a low schooling showed a higher prevalence of caries, especially among infants. The review notes the relationship between population indices and the prevalence of some oral diseases, with socioeconomic inequalities being key determinants in how these diseases are spread and how serious they are.