Integration of pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, and speech-language pathology in children and adolescents: a scoping review to identify preliminary domains for interdisciplinary referral
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Abstract
Background: Dentofacial and occlusal alterations in children and adolescents may coexist with functional signs involving breathing, lip competence, tongue posture and mobility, swallowing, chewing, speech, and oral habits. However, no brief, universal, and validated criteria are available to guide referral from paediatric dentistry or orthodontics to speech-language pathology.
Objective: This scoping review aimed to map recent scientific evidence and identify clinical domains that may inform the future development of a referral tool for individuals aged 0 to 18 years.
Methods: The review followed Arksey and O’Malley’s framework, Levac et al.’s recommendations, Joanna Briggs Institute guidance, and PRISMA-ScR. PubMed, LILACS, and SciELO were searched for publications from 2021 to 2025 in Spanish, English, or Portuguese, with full text available to the reviewers. Two reviewers independently screened records with their decisions masked in Rayyan®.
Results: A total of 113 records were identified; after duplicate removal and eligibility assessment, 21 studies were included in a narrative thematic synthesis. Simple inter-rater agreement during screening was 93.9%. Evidence was organised into six domains: malocclusion and oral functions, mouth breathing, airway, and sleep, tongue posture, swallowing, and speech, oral habits and environmental factors, orofacial myofunctional assessment protocols and interdisciplinary intervention.
Conclusions: The evidence was heterogeneous and predominantly descriptive; therefore, causal relationships and validated referral criteria cannot be inferred. The findings provide an initial basis for designing a future screening tool, which will require content validation, reliability testing, and clinical piloting before implementation.
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