Oral health promotion for cleft lip and palate children in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Abstract Background: Various congenital malformations, such as cleft lip and palate (CL/P) cases for children, affect the head and neck and can result in many problems for the function of teeth and make it difficult to keep good oral health. In Saudi Arabia, the prevalence of caries in teeth of CL/P children has increased. Saudi Arabia has insufficient oral health interventions for CL/P patients. Hence, there is a need for oral health promotion to contribute to improving the oral health of CL/P children. Aim: Challenges in Saudi Arabia confirm the need to explore global oral health promotion for CL/P children to draw upon effective strategies for improving oral health and preventing dental caries of the targeted group. This scoping review aims to review the literature on oral health promotion for CL/P children by examining the evidence for such promotions and to explore how these interventions are managed so that they can be applied in Saudi Arabia. Method: A scoping review methodological model was performed. The stages of scoping review include identifying the research question, identifying relevant studies, selecting studies and charting the data and summarising and reporting the results. Data were extracted from three online databases to find the literature on oral health promotion for CL/P patients. Results: Eighteen articles and reports were included in this study; these were categorised into six themes. Each theme represents an oral health promotion level: either upstream, midstream or downstream. These approaches were successful in improving oral health for CL/P children to different degrees. This means that multilevel strategies are more effective and could be recommended for application in Saudi Arabia. Conclusion: From the results of this scoping review, it was found that there are oral health promotions for CL/P patients globally that have had positive effects on improving oral health and preventing dental caries. Conducting such promotions has the potential to improve oral health for CL/P children in Saudi Arabia.