The Clinical Effectiveness of Calcium Hydroxide in Root Canal Disinfection of Primary Teeth: A Meta-Analysis

• Published in: Medical science monitor Vol. 25; pp. 2908 - 2916
• Main Authors: Jia, Liying, Zhang, Xiaolin, Shi, Hong, Li, Ting, Lv, Bingjian, Xie, Meng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States International Scientific Literature, Inc 20.04.2019
• Subjects: Calcium Hydroxide - therapeutic use; Camphor - therapeutic use; Dental Disinfectants - therapeutic use; Dental Pulp Cavity - drug effects; Drug Combinations; Formocresols - therapeutic use; Humans; Meta-Analysis; Phenols - therapeutic use; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Root Canal Therapy - methods; Tooth, Deciduous - surgery; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 1643-3750; 1234-1010; 1643-3750
• DOI: 10.12659/MSM.913256

BACKGROUND The aim of this research was to systematically analyze the effectiveness of calcium hydroxide compared to formocresol (FC) and camphor phenol (CP) in root canal disinfection of primary teeth. MATERIAL AND METHODS The meta-analysis was based on the participants, interventions, control, outcome (PICO) study design principle and 16 randomized-controlled clinical trials published from January 2000 to August 2018. The data heterogeneity of each study was assessed by the Q-test. The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated based on the heterogeneity results by Revman software. RESULTS Sixteen randomized-controlled clinical trials of 3047 primary teeth were included in this meta-analysis. There were significant differences of clinical effectiveness between calcium hydroxide and FC in root canal disinfection of primary teeth (OR=3.37; 95% CI range: 2.54-4.48, P<0.01) and endodontic inter-appointment emergencies (EIAE) after disinfection for 7 days (OR=0.26; 95% CI range: 0.16-0.42, P<0.01). However, there was no statistical difference of EIAE, after disinfection of primary teeth for 48 hours, between calcium hydroxide and FC (OR=0.62; 95% CI range: 0.34-1.11, P=0.11). There were significant differences of clinical effectiveness between the calcium hydroxide and CP in root canal disinfection of primary teeth (OR=5.50; 95% CI range: 3.36-8.98, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS This meta-analysis indicated that the effectiveness of calcium hydroxide as root canal disinfectant in primary teeth was more effective than that of FC and CP.