Background: Malnutrition is a major public health issue worldwide. It has significant consequences, including weakened immune systems, which may lead to increased incidences of infectious disease and higher mortality, particularly in children. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to estimate the overall prevalence of malnutrition (wasting, underweight, and stunting) among children of 6–14 years of age in Iran. Methods: Data were collected in 2018 based on searches of the PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, Science Information Database (SID), Magiran, Irandoc, and Iranmedex databases using the following keywords: childhood, childhood malnutrition, children, nutrition, malnutrition, wasting, underweight, stunting, child, student, boy, girl, cause, prevalence, and Iran, in order to identify studies eligible for inclusion in the review. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis, version 2 (CMA: 2) was used to estimate the overall prevalence of malnutrition. Results: Nine out of 328 articles were included in our analyses. The overall of wasting among children of 6–14 years of age in Iran based on the random-effects model (according to nine studies and 18,296 participants) was 12.5% (95% Confidence Interval, 7.1-21.2). The overall prevalence of underweight based on the random-effects model (according to 10 studies and 19,185 participants) was 19% (95% CI, 8.1-38.6). Also, the overall prevalence of stunting based on the random-effects model (according to 10 studies and 19,185 participants) was 20% (95% CI, 9.4-37.8). Conclusions: The results of this study show that the prevalence of malnutrition among 6–14-year-old children in Iran is similar to the global average. We need solutions that can be used for both prevention and reduction of malnutrition, especially in areas with middle or low socioeconomic status. It is necessary to identify factors associated with malnutrition in various geographic regions in order to implement appropriate programs based on factors with the highest impact in each region.

Background: Behavior is important in dental disease etiology, so behavioral interventions are needed for prevention and treatment. Motivational interviewing (MI) has been proposed as a potentially useful behavioral intervention for prevention of early childhood caries. Methods: Studies have evaluated the effectiveness of MI on reduction of the risk-related behaviors for early childhood caries (ECC) compared to dental health education (DHE) The aim of this systematic review was to assess the scientific evidence on MI applied to change parental risk-related behaviors. The potentially eligible studies involved the assessment of caries-related behaviors in caregivers receiving MI. Electronic search of English published literature was performed in February 2020 in the Scopus, Cochrane, PubMed, and Embase databases. Assessment of risk of bias was done by the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results: Of 329 articles retrieved initially, seven were eligible for inclusion in this review. Four studies evaluated the behavior of tooth brushing and four studies assessed the cariogenic feeding practice, while only one study investigated the behavior of checking teeth for pre-cavities. Moreover, two studies examined dental attendance for varnish fluoride use and oral health-related knowledge. It was not possible to perform a meta-analysis. Conclusions: Generally, results support the application of MI to improve the “dental attendance behavior for fluoride use” and participants' knowledge. However, the results were inconclusive for other behaviors. We need further and better designed interventions to completely evaluate the impact of MI on specific ECC-related behaviors.