LAUSR

BACKGROUND Pulp stone (PS) is a dystrophic calcification in the tooth's pulp chamber and was suggested in the literature to be associated with other calcifications in the body. This study aimed to investigate the association of PS to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and renal stones (RS). METHODS Three databases were searched until June 2021 in addition to manual searching of Google Scholar and grey literature. Original studies were only included and critically appraised using an adapted version of the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. The odds ratio (OR) effect measure was calculated using the Mantel-Haenszel statistical test (95% confidence interval [CI]) to investigate the association of PS with CVD and or RS (p-value ˂ 0.05). RESULTS The database search identified 4933 studies, and 19 studies were finally included. The risk of bias was low in thirteen studies, moderate in four studies, and high in two studies. The meta-analysis of the moderate-and-low risk of bias studies revealed a significant association between PS and CVD (OR 3.35, 95% CI 1.91-5.89, P < 0.001, I2 = 65%), but no association was found between PS and RS. The results also revealed an association between PS and CVD in patients older than 40 (OR 8.78, 95% CI 3.64-21.17, P < 0.001, I2 = 0%). CONCLUSIONS The current study results showed an association between PS and CVD, but no association was found between PS and RS. PS in patients younger than 40 years, compared to older patients (> 40 years), was associated with CVD.