Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease as a Causal Factor in Dental Erosion and Oral Lesions in Adults: A Systematic Review
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Background: This systematic review synthesized evidence on the association between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and oral health outcomes. Methods: Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a systematic search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar from inception through December 2024. Studies involving adults aged 18 and above with diagnosed GERD reporting dental erosion or oral lesion outcomes were included. Quality assessment used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, supplemented by the MOOSE guidance for observational-study synthesis and the AMSTAR-2 checklist for included reviews. Inter-rater agreement during screening was estimated with Cohen's kappa. Given the substantial methodological heterogeneity, quantitative meta-analysis was deemed inappropriate a priori; instead, the Doi plot and the Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transformation were used to inform the narrative synthesis, and review-level evidence was reported separately from primary-study evidence to avoid double-counting of overlapping data.Results: From 512 identified records, 43 studies met the inclusion criteria. Dental erosion prevalence among GERD patients ranged from 7% to 87.5%, with this wide range reflecting differences in GERD diagnostic methods, erosion assessment tools, study populations, and the time span of the included literature (1991-2026). Palatal surfaces of maxillary anterior teeth were most commonly affected.Conclusion: GERD demonstrates a significant association with dental erosion and oral mucosal lesions, supporting multidisciplinary management. The wide prevalence range and methodological heterogeneity should be acknowledged when interpreting these findings, and the Mendelian randomization evidence, while supportive of causality, should be considered alongside its inherent limitations.
Institution: Herat University
Language: English
Topic: Dental Erosion and Treatment
Subfield: General Dentistry
Field: Dentistry
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7203606883