Oral Health and Hygiene Status of Global Transgender Population: A Living Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Vaibhav Kumar (), Jasleen Thakker, Abhishek Royal, Nikhil Bhanushali and Ziad D. Baghdadi ()
Additional contact information
Vaibhav Kumar: Department of Public Health Dentistry, Dr. G.D. Pol Foundation YMT Dental College and Hospital (Affiliated to Maharashtra University of Health Science, Nashik), Kharghar, Navi Mumbai 410210, India
Jasleen Thakker: Kartavya Disha Global Foundation, Vasai, Maharashtra 401202, India
Abhishek Royal: Independent Public Health Consultant, New Delhi, India
Nikhil Bhanushali: Department of Public Health Dentistry, Terna Dental College, Navi Mumbai 400706, India
Ziad D. Baghdadi: Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, Division of Pediatric Dentistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0W2, Canada

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 3, 1-29

Abstract: Due to several interpersonal, social, and organizational challenges, dental health has been occasionally compromised in the transgender population. There is a lack of awareness among transgender persons to access affordable trans-competent oral health care. More information is required to identify and assess the oral health condition of this population in order to encourage better access to oral healthcare and effectively influence public health policy and practice. This systematic review aims to provide evidence about the status of oral health and hygiene of the transgender population across the globe. A systematic literature search using keywords and MESH search terms was conducted using PubMed, Medline, Google Scholar, and EBSCO online databases. The references of included journal articles were manually searched and appropriate studies were included, which were then critically appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) tool and the Newcastle–Ottawa protocol for the risk of bias assessment of prevalence studies, with each study assessed by two independent reviewers. Based on the search procedures, a total of 2026 articles were initially screened and, after evaluation, 20 were included in the systematic review. Transgender persons often face stigma and discrimination in dental healthcare settings, which affects their oral health status. A greater prevalence of substance abuse stemming from anxiety, lack of adequate education, and poor socioeconomic status leads to an increased prevalence of oral health diseases in this marginalized population. There is a need for policies and reforms to appraise their oral health and hygiene status and improve access to oral health services in this population.

Keywords: dental hygiene status; malocclusion; oral mucosal lesions; oral health status; periodontal status; transgender (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/3/433/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/3/433/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:3:p:433-:d:1612572

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().