Search

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the success rate of formocresol and ferric sulfate through meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis (TSA). Method and materials: The protocol of the review was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD 42018090044). Two independent reviewers used PubMed, Scopus and EBSCOhost databases to identify randomized clinical trials published from inception to June 2019. Patients undergoing pulpotomy therapy in vital primary molars with pulp exposure due to caries treated with formocresol and ferric sulfate were evaluated for clinical and radiographic success. Metaanalysis was conducted to evaluate the success at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months and TSA was performed for success at 24 months. Quality of evidence was determined by Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) analysis. Results: Eight clinical trials were included in metaanalysis. No difference was observed in the clinical and radiographic success rate between formocresol and ferric sulfate at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. TSA identified required information size of 687 teeth for clinical success and 568 teeth for radiographic success. In addition, it demonstrated evidence for radiographic success rate at an anticipated intervention effect of 10% for formocresol over ferric sulfate. Conclusion: Formocresol and ferric sulfate show comparable clinical and radiographic success rates as pulpotomy material in primary molars at 24 months based on the studies with low to moderate quality of evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Arch length preservation strategies utilize leeway space or E-space in the mixed dentition to resolve mild to moderate mandibular incisor crowding. The purpose of this systematic review of the literature was to analyze the effects of arch length preservation strategies in on mandibular second permanent molar eruption. Methods: A search for relevant articles published from inception until May 2020 was performed using PubMed/Medline, Cochrane databases, Clinicaltrials.gov, Google scholar and journal databases. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were adopted for the conduct of the systematic review. Using RevMan 5.3 software, the most pertinent data were extracted and pooled for quantitative analysis with 95% confidence intervals. Heterogeneity was analyzed by using Cochran Q test and I squared statistics. Results: A total of 5 studies involving 855 mixed dentition patients with arch length preservation therapy were included in the qualitative analysis. Pooled estimate of the data from two studies revealed 3.14 times higher odds of developing mandibular second molar eruption difficulty due to arch length preservation strategies using lingual holding arch (95% CI; OR 1.10–8.92). There was no heterogeneity found in the analysis. The certainty levels were graded as very low. Conclusions: This systematic review demonstrates that arch length preservation strategies pose a risk for development of mandibular second molar eruption disturbances, but the evidence was of very low quality. Registration number: CRD42019116643. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To systematically assess the methodological quality of Systematic Reviews (SRs) and Meta‐Analyses (MA) published in Paediatric Dentistry journals and to analyse the relationship between the authors, journals, country, review topic, and the year of publication to the methodological quality of SRs and MA. Design: Paediatric Dentistry journals ranked in the top five of the h5 index of Google Scholar Metrics were selected. SRs with MA were searched independently by two reviewers using PubMed and Scopus databases until December 2017. Methodological quality was assessed using A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) tool. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05 and Mann‐Whitney U test and Kruskal‐Wallis test was employed for comparing the AMSTAR score with the journal characteristics. Results: Finally, 24 SRs with MA were included. The overall AMSTAR score of SRs and MA published in paediatric dentistry journals was 7.08 ± 2.41. No statistically significant differences were found between the country, journal or focus of study to the quality of SRs except the number of authors and the year of publication (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The quality of SRs and MA in leading Paediatric Dentistry journals were evaluated with AMSTAR tool and areas where quality could be improved were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction The aim of this systematic review (SR) was to evaluate the quality of SRs and meta-analyses (MAs) in endodontics. Methods A comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify relevant articles in the electronic databases from January 2000 to June 2017. Two reviewers independently assessed the articles for eligibility and data extraction. SRs and MAs on interventional studies with a minimum of 2 therapeutic strategies in endodontics were included in this SR. Methodologic and reporting quality were assessed using A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), respectively. The interobserver reliability was calculated using the Cohen kappa statistic. Statistical analysis with the level of significance at P < .05 was performed using Kruskal-Wallis tests and simple linear regression analysis. Results A total of 30 articles were selected for the current SR. Using AMSTAR, the item related to the scientific quality of studies used in conclusion was adhered by less than 40% of studies. Using PRISMA, 3 items were reported by less than 40% of studies, which were on objectives, protocol registration, and funding. No association was evident comparing the number of authors and country with quality. Statistical significance was observed when quality was compared among journals, with studies published as Cochrane reviews superior to those published in other journals. AMSTAR and PRISMA scores were significantly related. Conclusions SRs in endodontics showed variability in both methodologic and reporting quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Reduction of microbial load from the root canal systems is a pre-requisite for healing of lesions of endodontic origin. Such microbial reduction is influenced by the method of irrigant delivery and activation. The aim of this systematic review was to compare the effect of ultrasonically activated irrigation (UAI) with other irrigation techniques on the reduction of microorganisms during root canal disinfection.Materials and methods: The research question was created based on the PICO strategy. Two reviewers independently performed a comprehensive literature search in electronic databases. Following application of inclusion and exclusion criteria to the selected articles, a systematic data extraction sheet was constructed. The selected articles were assessed using methodological quality scoring protocol. The risk of bias in selected studies was critically assessed by two reviewers.Results: A total of 15 articles were included for the systematic review. The included studies were heterogeneous in study design; hence, meta-analysis was not performed. The overall risk of bias for the selected studies was moderate. Overall, UAI showed superior reduction of microbial counts, resulting in better disinfection compared to other irrigation systems chosen for comparison in this review.Conclusion: The use of UAI can bring about superior microbial reduction within the root canal system compared to other irrigant activation techniques.Clinical relevance: Activation of irrigants with ultrasonic brings about significant bacterial reduction from the root canal systems compared to other methods of irrigant activation and conventional syringe irrigation. This might help in improving the outcome of root canal treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To compare the clinical and radiographic outcomes of pulpotomies in primary molars using bioactive endodontic materials and ferric sulfate. The search was conducted in PubMed, Ebscohost, ProQuest, and Scopus databases till June 2021. Children undergoing pulpotomy therapy in primary molars treated with ferric sulfate (FS) and bioactive endodontic materials were evaluated for clinical and radiographic success. Meta-analysis was performed on a random-effects model to assess the success at 6,12,18, and 24 months. The quality of studies was evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized trials No significant difference was observed between Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and FS at 24 months for both clinical [RR0.98 (95%CI 0.15,6.34), I 2 = 0%] and radiographic [RR0.74 (95%CI: 0.23,2.43), I 2 = 0%] success. At 6 months [RR1.36 (95%CI: 0.10,19.34), I 2 = 33%], no difference was observed in the clinical [RR1.00 (95%CI: 0.95,1.05), I 2 = 0%] and radiographic success [RR0.99 (95%CI: 0.88,1.11), I 2 = 51%] between Biodentine (BD), FS and radiographic success of calcium enriched cement and FS [RR0.25 (95%CI: 0.03, 2.22), I2 = 0%]. Amongst bioactive materials, MTA and FS demonstrated equal success rates in both clinical and radiographic outcomes with follow-up periods of up to 24 months. Future, high-quality trials are required to verify the result of the current review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Estimation of age of an individual can be performed by evaluating the pattern of dental development. A dataset for age estimation based on the dental maturity of a French–Canadian population was published over 35 years ago and has become the most widely accepted dataset. The applicability of this dataset has been tested on different population groups. Aim: To estimate the observed differences between Chronological age (CA) and Dental age (DA) when the French Canadian dataset was used to estimate the age of different population groups. Materials and methods: A systematic search of literature for papers utilizing the French Canadian dataset for age estimation was performed. All language articles from PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases were electronically searched for terms ‘Demirjian’ and ‘Dental age’ published between January 1973 and December 2011. A hand search of articles was also conducted. Results: A total of 274 studies were identified from which 34 studies were included for qualitative analysis and 12 studies were included for quantitative assessment and meta-analysis. When synthesizing the estimation results from different population groups, on average, the Demirjian dataset overestimated the age of females by 0.65 years (−0.10 years to +2.82 years) and males by 0.60 years (−0.23 years to +3.04 years). Conclusion: The French Canadian dataset overestimates the age of the subjects by more than six months and hence this dataset should be used only with considerable caution when estimating age of group of subjects of any global population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Dental age assessment is one the most accurate methods for estimating the age of an unknown person. Demirjian''s dataset on a French-Canadian population has been widely tested for its applicability on various ethnic groups including southern Chinese. Following inaccurate results from these studies, investigators are now confronted with using alternate datasets for comparison. Testing the applicability of other reliable datasets which result in accurate findings might limit the need to develop population specific standards. Recently, a Reference Data Set (RDS) similar to the Demirjian was prepared in the United Kingdom (UK) and has been subsequently validated. The advantages of the UK Caucasian RDS includes versatility from including both the maxillary and mandibular dentitions, involvement of a wide age group of subjects for evaluation and the possibility of precise age estimation with the mathematical technique of meta-analysis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of the United Kingdom Caucasian RDS on southern Chinese subjects. Dental panoramic tomographs (DPT) of 266 subjects (133 males and 133 females) aged 2–21 years that were previously taken for clinical diagnostic purposes were selected and scored by a single calibrated examiner based on Demirjian''s classification of tooth developmental stages (A–H). The ages corresponding to each stage of tooth developmental stage were obtained from the UK dataset. Intra-examiner reproducibility was tested and the Cohen kappa (0.88) showed that the level of agreement was ‘almost perfect’. The estimated dental age was then compared with the chronological age using a paired t-test, with statistical significance set at p <0.01. The results showed that the UK dataset, underestimated the age of southern Chinese subjects by 0.24 years but the results were not statistically significant. In conclusion, the UK Caucasian RDS may not be suitable for estimating the age of southern Chinese subjects and there is a need for an ethnic specific reference dataset for southern Chinese. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]