Prophylactic extraction of deciduous canines

Abstract

Data sources: The Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline and Embase were searched, along with searches by hand of relevant journals, when these had not already been searched as part of the Cochrane Oral Health Groups handsearching programme. The references of relevant publications were checked for further studies.

Study selection: Trials were selected if they met the following criteria: they were randomised controlled trials (RCT) or quasi-RCT, involved the extraction of the primary maxillary canine and assessed eruption/ noneruption of the palatally displaced maxillary permanent canine.

Data extraction and synthesis: Seven review authors independently, in duplicate, examined the studies found in the search. The primary outcome was the reported prevalence of eruption or noneruption of the ectopic permanent canine into the mouth following observation or intervention. Results were to be expressed as risk ratios for dichotomous outcomes with 95% confidence intervals and mean differences for continuous outcomes. Heterogeneity was to be investigated, including both clinical and methodological factors.

Results: Of 324 publications identified, 295 were excluded after reviewing the abstract. Full articles were obtained for the remaining 31, of which 19 were not reported in English and required translation. Three reports of two RCT were identified for possible inclusion in the review but the data in the publications were not presented in a usable form and the authors have been contacted for further details.

Conclusions: There is currently no evidence to support the extraction of the deciduous maxillary canine to facilitate the eruption of the palatally ectopic maxillary permanent canine. Two RCT were identified but, unfortunately, because of deficiencies in reporting, they cannot be included in the review at the present time.