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Purpose: Bone expansion is one of the quickest, simplest, and most reliable methods of alveolar ridge augmentation for implant placement. This systematic review is designed to investigate the outcomes of the bone expansion technique for horizontal ridge augmentation. Methods: The protocol of study has been prospectively registered into PROSPERO (CRD42023414686). Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched. Human original articles utilizing different bone expansion procedures for horizontal ridge augmentation without the use of bone materials or combined with vertical ridge augmentation techniques were included in the study. Qualitative and quantitative synthesis have been conducted. I-squared was used to assess heterogeneity. Meta-regression, forest plots random-effect model, and weighted mean difference were used for analysis. Leave-one-out influence analysis for finding outliers. Egger’s publication bias test and Funnel plots were used to address publication bias. Results: 3291 records were identified. Ten articles were included in this study after screening. The survival and complication rates of implants placed simultaneously with bone expansion was 100% 100% (95% CI: 99-100%) and 0% (95% CI: 0-1%), respectively. The meta-regression revealed that by each month passing from the implant placement the survival probability would be decreased significantly by 0.08% (95% CI: 0.009–0.15%; P = 0.03). The weighted mean ridge width difference before and after the osseodensification was 1.55 mm (95% CI: 0.92–2.17 mm). Conclusion: Based on the study’s limitations it can be concluded that the bone expansion procedure can be considered an efficient and safe method regarding the survival and complication rates of placed implants. Trial registration number: N/A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Endodontic treatment of teeth with periapical lesions presents more clinical difficulty. Various lasers in several methods are used in endodontics, and most of them are utilized as an adjunctive protocol in order to reduce the bacterial load of the root canal system. Improved disinfection plays a crucial role in enhanced and accelerated healing of periapical lesions. This review aims to summarize studies assessing the effect of lasers on periapical lesion healing. Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science (ISI) online databases were searched, with no publication year or status restriction, for relevant articles on April 2023. Clinical studies evaluating the effect of laser application on the periapical lesion of patients using radiographic assessment were considered eligible for inclusion. Results: Eight studies were included after carefully screening the obtained articles, first by their title and abstract and then by their full texts. Diode (4), Er, Cr: YSGG (3), and Nd: YAG (1) lasers were used with output powers that varied from 0.75 to 2 watts. Photodynamic therapy was employed in two studies, and in other studies, the root canal system was directly irradiated. Irradiation of the root canal system was adjunctive to standard preparation in all studies. The healing of the teeth treated with lasers was not inferior to those conventionally treated. In all of the included studies, laser application outperformed the standard cleaning and shaping protocol; however, this improved or faster healing was not statistically significant in most studies. Conclusion: Lasers might expedite and improve the healing process of periapical lesions. Since lasers enhance the quality of cleaning of the root canal system, it is hard to point out the exact mechanism of it. Further investigations are needed to realize the effectiveness of this treatment modality and to discover the underlying biological concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]