This systematic review compared children's primary dentition caries experience for those with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) and without. Four databases were searched without date restriction for; cross‐sectional studies comparing caries experience for children with CL/P to those without. Screening, data extraction and risk assessment were carried out independently (in duplicate). Meta‐analyses used a random‐effects model. Twenty studies (21 reports) fitting the inclusion criteria comprised 4647 children in primary dentition from 12 countries. For dmft (n = 3016 children; 15 groups), CL/P mean = 3.2; standard deviation = 2.22 and no CL/P mean dmft = 2.5; sd 1.53. For dmfs (n = 1095 children; 6 groups), CL/P mean = 4; sd = 3.5 and no CL/P mean = 3; sd = 2.8. For % caries experience (n = 1094 children; 7 groups), CL/P mean = 65%; sd = 20.8 and no CL/P mean = 52%; sd = 28.1. Meta‐analysis showed higher caries experience in children with CL/P, standardised mean difference = 0.46; 95% CI = 0.15, 0.77. Studies' risk of bias was high (n = 7), medium (n−10) and low (n = 3). Children with CL/P had higher caries experience compared to those without CLP.

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