Is there sufficient evidence to support the long-term efficacy of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) for endodontic therapy in primary teeth?
, , . Is there sufficient evidence to support the long-term efficacy of MTA for endodontic therapy in primary teeth? International Endodontic Journal International Endodontic Journal, 00, 000–000, 2012.
Abstract
Several
papers have been published to illustrate the effectiveness of mineral
trioxide aggregate (MTA) as a pulpotomy medicament. Most of these
reports do not offer a critical assessment on the data quality.
Therefore, this review evaluated whether the currently available
evidence is of an appropriate quality to support the long-term
effectiveness of MTA as a pulpotomy medicament in primary molars using a
standardized assessment criterion. A comprehensive literature search of
human clinical outcome studies, which employed MTA as a pulpotomy
medicament in primary teeth, was conducted using the MEDLINE database.
Two independent observers rated these articles using the standardized
assessment criteria. Furthermore, based on the initial sample mentioned
in the individual studies and the sample included for the final
analysis, the drop-out rates were calculated. Twenty-two studies were
included for quality assessment with an excellent interobserver
agreement. None of the 22 studies obtained grade A, four studies
attained grade B1, five were graded B2 and 13 received grade C. Based on
the assessment criteria employed, there was no evidence that MTA was
better than present materials and techniques as a pulpotomy medicament.
Furthermore, given the low quality of data, it is highly desirable to
establish standard requisites for conducting and reporting on pulp
therapy studies in primary teeth so as to benefit both researchers and
clinicians to produce high-quality studies that are comparable and to
prevent the misuse of clinical material and resources.
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