Global prevalence of teething problems in infants and children-A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Eruption of primary teeth is associated with local and systemic manifestations. Understanding the global prevalence is necessary to formulate the standard guidelines for management.

Aim: To evaluate the global prevalence of problems associated with teething in infants and children aged 0-36 months.

Design: PubMed, LILACS, Web of Science, Scopus, and EMBASE were searched on May 31, 2023, and it was updated on January 31, 2024. Gray literature and reference search were performed. Cross-sectional, case-control, and cohort studies done in hospital or community settings, reporting the prevalence of signs and symptoms during the eruption of primary teeth in infants aged 0-36 months, were included. Two reviewers extracted data using a pre-piloted sheet. Data were analyzed and pooled by using random-effects meta-analyses.

Results: Twenty-five studies were included. The global prevalence of teething problems was 80.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 67.8-89.9). The most common local symptom was increased biting (65.9%, 95% CI 37.5-89.3), and irritability (60.7%, 95% CI 50.6-70.3) was the most common general symptom.

Conclusion: The pooled prevalence of teething problems was estimated to be 80%. There was a variability in the prevalence of teething problems based on geographic location.