Endodontic surgery prognostic factors

Abstract

Data sources: Medline, (PubMed) and the Cochrane databases together with hand searching of the following journals: Journal of Endodontics, International Endodontic Journal, Oral Surgery Oral Medicine Oral Pathology (name changed to Oral Surgery Oral Medicine Oral Pathology Oral Radiology and Endodontics in 1995), Endodontics and Dental Traumatology (name changed to Dental Traumatology in 2001), Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

Study selection: Clinical studies evaluating apical surgery with placement of a root-end filling were included. Studies on apical surgery with orthograde root canal filling or about apicectomy alone without root-end filling were excluded, as were experimental and animal studies. Only studies with ≥ ten patients with a minimum six month follow-up period and clearly defined radiographic and clinical healing criteria, with healing reported for at least two categories of a specific prognostic factor were accepted. Studies reporting in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Scandinavian languages were included. All studies were assessed separately by two of the three authors, with disagreements resolved by discussion.

Data extraction and synthesis: Prognostic factors were divided into patient related, tooth-related or treatment-related factors. The reported percentages of healed teeth were pooled per category. The statistical method of Mantel-Haenszel was applied to estimate the odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals. Homogeneity was assessed using Woolf's test.

Results: With regard to tooth-related factors, the following were identified as predictors of healing: absence of preoperative pain or signs, good density of the root canal filling and a periapical lesion size of ≤ 5 mm. With regard to treatment-related factors, teeth treated with the use of an endoscope tended to have higher healed rates than teeth treated without the use of an endoscope.

Conclusions: Although the clinician may be able to control treatment-related factors (by choosing a certain technique), patient- and tooth-related factors are usually beyond the surgeon's power. Nevertheless, patient and tooth-related factors should be considered as important prognostic determinants when planning or weighing apical surgery against treatment alternatives.