Analysis of clinical studies related to apexification techniques

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ABSTRACT

Aim

The aim of this study was to gather all the clinical studies regarding apexification and artificial apical barrier techniques, point out the possible differences of the clinical procedures and investigate how these are changing over time.

Methods

An electronic search was carried out in PubMed, covering the period from March 1968 to July 2015. More articles were retrieved by hand-searching or by the reference section of the included articles. Specific criteria were set in order to determine the relevance of each study.

Results

One hundred and thirty eight articles were included, 53% of them concerned apexification with MTA plug. Long term apexification studies demonstrated 13% for a single change of the intracanal medicament and 85% for two or more. In 13% of the studies concerning artificial apical plug, the procedure included a single visit. Calcium hydroxide was left in the root canal for 3–12 months in 59% of the long term apexification studies, for 12-24 in 42% and for 24 months or more in 10%.

Conclusion

Both techniques can lead to favourable clinical outcomes. There is a tendency for the artificial apical barrier apexification over the years, which usually includes the use of intracanal medicament for a short time.

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