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Aims This study aimed to perform an epidemiological systematic review and meta‐analysis to estimate the global prevalence of dental caries in athletes with intellectual disabilities. Methods and results This study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42017068127). A systematic and extensive search was conducted in the Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, Virtual Health Library (Lilacs) databases, and Grey literature from inception up to April 2017. The MeSH terms “Sports,” Athletes,” and “Dental Caries” were used. The inclusion criteria used were observational cross‐sectional studies, longitudinal retrospective and prospective studies that present the prevalence of dental caries in athletes with intellectual disabilities. After the selection process, the risk of bias was assessed and a meta‐analysis was conducted. Sixteen articles met the inclusion criteria. Of these, eight studies were considered to have a moderate risk of bias, and eight were considered to have high risk of bias. The global prevalence of dental caries was 36.5% (95% CI = 30.6 to 42.7) with high heterogeneity between studies. Conclusion Dental caries is a significant global health problem in athletes with intellectual disabilities worldwide. There is a great need for increased oral health promotion, education, and prevention as a way to reduce this condition in this population.

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