Prevention of dental caries in Indigenous children from high-income countries (protocol)

Background: The prevalence of dental caries is increasing among Indigenous children in high-income countries. Dental caries is associated with pain, sepsis and reduced learning ability. Identifying effective health promotion programs for Indigenous children may help reduce the unacceptable inequality in oral health outcomes in Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. The objective of this paper is to systematically review the evidence for interventions to prevent dental caries in Indigenous children from high-income countries. Methods/Design: The following electronic databases will be searched for potentially eligible studies: Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed and Cinahl. Randomised control trials and quazi-randmoised control trials with the intention to prevent dental caries in Indigenous children from high-income countries will be accepted. Two authors will independently screen studies for eligibility for inclusion. Study authors will be contacted to provide additional information as required. Two authors will independently assess risk of bias. One author will extract and analyse statistical data, which will be checked by a second author. Discussion: This systematic review aims to identify best-practice health promotion strategies to reduce the prevalence of dental caries in Indigenous children from high-income countries. The findings of this systematic review have the potential to inform and improve current practice and contribute to addressing the inequality that currently exists in oral health between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in high-income countries