The effectiveness of pulp revascularization in root formation of necrotic immature permanent teeth: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to carry out a systematic review to analyse the effectiveness of pulp revascularization in the root formation of necrotic immature permanent teeth, as well as the level of scientific evidence regarding this theme. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The methodology was based on searching electronic databases such as Web of Science, Pubmed, BVS (Medline, Scielo, Lilacs and BBO), Scopus and Cochrane, including manual searches for the references listed in the studies found. The terms used for the literature search were pulp revascularization and endodontics. RESULTS: Initially, 277 articles were identified from the electronic databases; 17 studies remained after analysis and exclusion of duplicates; exclusion criteria also eliminated six articles; 11 remained for evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: Although the results found in the present systematic review are relevant, the scientific evidence should be interpreted with caution as the articles report different methods and evaluation parameters. Despite the capacity of the pulp revascularization technique to stimulate the development of the apical closure and thickening of radicular dentin, several aspects still remain unknown, like the key factors of this repair, the type of tissue formed and the long-term prognosis.

Association between Apical Periodontitis and Interleukin Gene Polymorphisms: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Genetic polymorphisms may result in altered gene expression or functional changes of the encoded molecules and could possibly generate a deficient immunity. Consequently, individuals with specific genotypes could be more susceptible to disease or could present an increase in disease severity. Our study is aimed to verify, through a systematic review and meta-analysis registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42016043905), whether currently available evidence supports a relationship between interleukin gene polymorphisms and apical periodontitis (AP). METHODS: A broad search for studies was conducted. The following databases were used: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Virtual Health Library (MEDLINE, SciELO, IBECS, and LILACS). The Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms "Periapical Periodontitis," "Periapical Abscess," "Polymorphism, Genetic," and "Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide" were used. MeSH synonyms, related terms, and free terms were included. After application of the eligibility criteria, selected studies were qualified by assessment of their methodologic quality. A fixed effects model was used for the meta-analysis. RESULTS: The initial search identified 71 references. After excluding duplicate abstracts, 33 were selected. From these, 6 were eligible for quality assessment; 5 were classified as being of moderate quality, and 1 was classified as being of high quality. CONCLUSIONS: From these included studies, polymorphisms in IL1B, IL6, and IL8 were associated with AP. Polymorphisms in IL1A, IL10, or IL12B were not associated with AP regardless of the methodology used. The meta-analysis suggested that the genotype and allele distribution of IL1B (+3954 C/T) gene polymorphism was different in post-treatment AP. More research in this area is warranted to confirm these results.

Does Conventional Endodontic Treatment Impact Oral Health-related Quality of Life? A Systematic Review.

Could conventional endodontic treatment have an impact on oral health-related quality of life? There are still unresolved questions regarding this theme. In order to answer them, a systematic review on the available literature was undertaken to identify the methodological quality of and the risk of bias in all relevant studies. A broad search for articles was conducted, and only articles published before May 2016 were considered for review. The following portals were used: Pubmed, VHL (Medline, SciELO, Lilacs and BBO), Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. The keywords used for the search were 'quality of life' and 'root canal treatment.' Furthermore, we included MeSH synonyms, related terms and free terms. Articles written in any language were included according to the PICOS approach (population, intervention, comparison, outcome and study design). After application of these eligibility criteria, selected articles were qualified by assessing their methodological quality and potential risk of bias. The initial search identified 302 references. After excluding duplicated abstracts and analysing the titles and abstracts, 6 were selected. One study was added via manual search of the reference lists. From these, 2 were eligible for quality assessment and were classified as being of high methodological quality and as having low risk of bias. Based on these studies, it can be concluded that conventional endodontic treatment improves oral health-related quality of life. However, these results should be interpreted with caution, due to the lack of important methodological details in the included studies. Additional investigations are warranted to provide more evidence on this subject.