One-step partial or complete caries removal and bonding with antibacterial or traditional self-etch adhesives: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Does the liner material influence pulpal vitality in deep carious cavities submitted to selective caries removal? A network meta-analysis review

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate whether the restorative material in direct contact with the dentin influences pulp vitality in primary and permanent teeth with deep carious lesions restored after selective caries removal (SCR).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Systematic searches of databases MEDLINE via PubMed, Scopus and ISI Web of Science were performed for primary and permanent teeth. Inclusion criteria were applied for title and abstract reading of databases search results. After full texts review of included studies, those that did not meet exclusion criteria were excluded from meta-analysis.

RESULTS

For meta-analysis, 2 studies were included for permanent teeth and 6 for primary teeth. The failure events reported were meta-analyzed using two statistical methods: standard pairwise meta-analysis (SPMA) and network meta-analysis (NMA). The SPMA identified similar failure occurrence of restorations performed with calcium hydroxide (CH) and other liner materials (RR 0.84, 95% CI 0.41, 1.74; p = 0.64), no significant difference between the use of alternative liners or CH regardless deciduous or permanent teeth (RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.36, 1.71; p = 0.55) and similar risk of failing at different follow-ups for all liner materials tested (RR 0.77, 95% CI 0.35, 1.70; p = 0.52). Probabilistic analysis indicated GIC as liner material with the highest probability of clinical success (SUCRA = 72.76%), and CH ranked as the worst liner material (SUCRA = 21.81%).

CONCLUSION

Pulpal vitality was not affected by material used as liner after selective caries removal in deep carious cavities.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Current clinical evidence supports the weak recommendation to not use calcium hydroxide as liner after SCR.

Selective Caries Removal in Permanent Teeth (SCRiPT) for the treatment of deep carious lesions: a randomised controlled clinical trial in primary care

BACKGROUND

Dental caries is one of the most prevalent non-communicable disease globally and can have serious health sequelae impacting negatively on quality of life. In the UK most adults experience dental caries during their lifetime and the 2009 Adult Dental Health Survey reported that 85% of adults have at least one dental restoration. Conservative removal of tooth tissue for both primary and secondary caries reduces the risk of failure due to tooth-restoration, complex fracture as well as remaining tooth surfaces being less vulnerable to further caries. However, despite its prevalence there is no consensus on how much caries to remove prior to placing a restoration to achieve optimal outcomes. Evidence for selective compared to complete or near-complete caries removal suggests there may be benefits for selective removal in sustaining tooth vitality, therefore avoiding abscess formation and pain, so eliminating the need for more complex and costly treatment or eventual tooth loss. However, the evidence is of low scientific quality and mainly gleaned from studies in primary teeth.

METHOD

This is a pragmatic, multi-centre, two-arm patient randomised controlled clinical trial including an internal pilot set in primary dental care in Scotland and England. Dental health professionals will recruit 623 participants over 12-years of age with deep carious lesions in their permanent posterior teeth. Participants will have a single tooth randomised to either the selective caries removal or complete caries removal treatment arm. Baseline measures and outcome data (during the 3-year follow-up period) will be assessed through clinical examination, patient questionnaires and NHS databases. A mixed-method process evaluation will complement the clinical and economic outcome evaluation and examine implementation, mechanisms of impact and context. The primary outcome at three years is sustained tooth vitality. The primary economic outcome is net benefit modelled over a lifetime horizon. Clinical secondary outcomes include pulp exposure, progession of caries, restoration failure; as well as patient-centred and economic outcomes.

DISCUSSION

SCRiPT will provide evidence for the most clinically effective and cost-beneficial approach to managing deep carious lesions in permanent posterior teeth in primary care. This will support general dental practitioners, patients and policy makers in decision making. Trial Registration Trial registry: ISRCTN.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ISRCTN76503940. Date of Registration: 30.10.2019. URL of trial registry record: https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN76503940?q=ISRCTN76503940%20&filters=&sort=&offset=1&totalResults=1&page=1&pageSize=10&searchType=basic-search .

Place of a new radiological index in predicting pulp exposure before intervention for deep carious lesions

BACKGROUND

During interventions for deep caries lesions without severe symptoms, preserving pulpal vitality is important to ensure treatment success, improve organ prognosis, and decrease cost-effectiveness. Current pre-operative radiographs allow visual estimation but not accurate measurement of lesion depth.

PURPOSE

Investigate the ability of ratio 'remaining/total dentin thickness' (RDT/TDT, as determined on pre-operative radiographs) to predict pulp exposure during excavation.

METHODS

This retrospective study (January 2018-June 2020) analyzed data on 360 patients. Four independent raters examined standard pre-operative radiographs and their contrasted versions. Lines put at the dentino-enamel junction, the floor of the carious lesion, and the pulp chamber wall allowed deriving RDT/TDT. Inter-rater agreements and concordance were assessed. A logistic regression accounting for measurement errors provided odds ratios that estimated the ability of the RDT/TDT to predict pulp exposure.

RESULTS

The median RDT/TDT ratio ranges were 16.8-26.5% on standard and 16.2-24.6% on contrasted radiographs. Inter-rater agreements on RDT/TDT were rather poor and inter-rater reliability was low and similar in standard and contrasted radiographs: the concordance correlation coefficients (95% CIs) were estimated at 0.46 (0.40; 0.51) and 0.46 (0.40; 0.52), respectively. The risk of pulp exposure increased by 2.5 times [odds ratio (95% CI) 2.57 (2.06; 3.20)] per 10-point decrease of the ratio on standard radiographs vs. 4.15 (3.15; 5.46) on contrasted radiographs.

CONCLUSION

RDT/TDT ratio is potentially helpful in predicting pulp exposure. However, the measurement errors on RDT and TDT being non-negligible and the interrater agreements poor, there is still place for advances through development of an automated process that will improve reliability and reproducibility of pulp exposure risk assessment.

CLINICAL TRIAL

Trial registration number. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04607395, October 29, 2020.

Clinical Efficiency of Self-etching One-Step and Two-Step Adhesives in NCCL: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

One-step self-etch adhesive systems provide a clinical time gain, decreasing the number of clinical steps. When a clinician is able to follow a simpler process of adhesion there is less chance of adhesive failure.

SUMMARY

Objective: A systematic review and meta-analyses were performed to evaluate whether one-step self-etching (1SSE) adhesive systems are as effective as two-step self-etching (2SSE) adhesives in noncarious cervical lesion (NCCL) restorations.Methods: This systematic review was conducted according to the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) and recorded in the PROSPERO (CRD42018096747). Electronic systematic searches were conducted in the following databases: PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Cochrane Library for published articles. Only randomized clinical trials that compared 1SSE with 2SSE adhesives systems were selected. The outcomes were retention, postoperative sensitivity, secondary caries, color match, marginal discoloration, marginal adaptation, and anatomical form.Results: The searches resulted in 476 studies. After applying the eligibility criteria, five randomized controlled trials were selected in which 822 restorations in NCCLs were distributed in 237 patients. The results showed no statistical difference between 1SSE and 2SSE in relation to retention (p=0.23; relative risk [RR]=1.55; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.76, 3.19), postoperative sensitivity ( p=0.50; RR=3.00; 95% CI=0.13, 70.64), Secondary caries (p=0.63; RR=0.68; 95% CI=0.14, 3.31), color match (p=0.41; RR=0.64; 95% CI=0.23, 1.83), marginal discoloration (p=0.93; RR=1.02; 95% CI=0.65, 1.61), and anatomical form (p=0.56; RR=1.38; 95% CI=0.46, 4.13). However there was statistical difference in relation to marginal adaptation ( p=0.01; RR=1.95; 95% CI=1.14, 3.34).Conclusion: This systematic review with meta-analysis revealed that both 1SSE and 2SSE adhesive systems have comparable clinical effectiveness in a follow-up period of 12 to 24 months, except in relation to marginal adaptation.

Management preferences of deep caries in permanent teeth among dentists in Saudi Arabia

Objective:

To report the management preferences of deep caries in permanent teeth among dentists.

Materials and Methods:

This observational cross-sectional study included a convenience sample of 177 dentists selected from private and public dental clinics in different cities of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Four clinical scenarios about the absence or presence of pain/symptoms and the risk of pulp exposure in deep caries were presented to the dentists in a pilot-tested questionnaire.

Results:

Most dentists (82.5%) preferred complete caries excavation when there was no risk of pulp exposure and no pain/symptom was associated with deep caries in permanent teeth. The stepwise technique was the procedure of choice reported by 57.8% of dentists when there was no pain but a risk of exposure was present. In case of no exposure risk but the presence of nonspontaneous pain (pain on thermal testing), complete caries removal was chosen by 55.9% of the respondents. Root canal treatment and stepwise caries removal were preferred by 42.4% and 38.4%, respectively, when there was a risk of exposure and nonspontaneous pain. The risk of exposure (81.4%), the progression of caries (73.4%), and treatment failure (58.8%) were the most common concerns with different caries removal techniques. The hardness was the most commonly used criterion (85.3%) followed by the color of caries (50.3%) during caries excavation.

Conclusions:

The majority of dentists preferred to completely remove caries in case of no risk of pulp exposure. The dentists should update their knowledge and adopt latest concepts about minimally invasive caries removal approaches.