Prevalence of gingival recession in university students: a systematic review

Abstract

Purpose

This systematic review aims to comprehensively assess the prevalence, extent, severity, and distribution of gingival recession (GR) among university students. Recognizing that GR repre-sents a significant periodontal concern with aesthetic and functional consequences, this review focuses on a young demographic that is underrepresented in epidemiological surveys.

Materials and Methods

Following the PRISMA guidelines and a pre-registered protocol, a structured search strategy was designed and executed across PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, and EBSCO databa-ses, targeting studies published over the last 20 years. Eligibility was defined using the PICO framework: Population: university students; Intervention/Exposure: presence of GR; Compari-son: absence of GR; Outcome: prevalence rates. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical app-raisal checklists were used to assess methodological quality and risk of bias across various study designs, including cross-sectional, cohort, case-control, and randomized controlled tri-als.

Results

Out of 299 initially identified articles, nine met the inclusion criteria, encompassing a total of 1,619 participants. The design of the included studies revealed considerable heterogeneity in sampling, measurement methods, and reported prevalence, which ranged widely from 29.4% to 82.6%. Risk factors linked to GR included age, gender, oral hygiene practices, brushing technique and force, occlusal interferences, and anatomical factors.

Conclusion

This systematic review demonstrates a high prevalence of gingival recession among university students, underscoring the importance of targeted preventive strategies and educational inter-ventions in this population. Future well-designed longitudinal studies are needed to clarify causality and inform tailored prevention programs.

Keywords

• Gingival recession
• systematic review
• prevalence
• university students
• PRISMA design

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