Salivary counts of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus in patients with and without cleft lip and/or palate undergoing orthodontic treatment: A Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE To conduct a systematic review with meta-analysis to assess if cleft lip and palate (CLP) patients undergoing orthodontic treatment have a higher colonization of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus than patients without this condition. METHODS Five electronic databases were searched systematically. The inclusion criteria were: randomized clinical trials, non-randomized, or quasi-randomized controlled trials, prospective and retrospective studies published until March, 2021; Articles that evaluated Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus profile in patients with and without cleft lip and palate undergoing orthodontic treatment. The random-effect model was used to perform the analysis of all the data collected. Statistic heterogeneity was evaluated with I2 test. RESULTS In this systematic review 2 cohort studies were included. The data analysis from 160 patients revealed that patients without cleft lip and palate had 4.5 times more predisposition to oral colonization with Streptococcus mutans than CLP patients. No statistical significant difference was found between these patients for colonization with Lactobacillus. CONCLUSIONS Despite the limitations in the included studies, this systematic review suggested that CLP patients have a lower predisposition to oral colonization with Streptococcus mutans when compared to healthy patients.