Partial Removal of Carious in Primary Teeth: A Systematic Review

Objectives: To determine the clinical evidence of partial carious removal (PCR) in primary teeth concerning the longevity of restorer treatment, clinical and radiographic success.
Methods: The PRISMA guidelines was followed. We searched in the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scielo, BBO and LILACS databases. There were no language restrictions and time limitation and the last survey was conducted in February 2016. The terms firstly searched were “partial caries removal” and “primary teeth” and then, “restoration longevity" as the percentage of present and satisfactory restorations in the study follow-up, "clinical success" as the absence of signs and symptoms, and "radiographic evaluation". The analysis was limited to clinical studies about PCR in the primary teeth. After title, abstract, and full versions reading, the data were extracted and the studies were subjected to the evaluation of risk of bias according to predetermined criteria of Cochrane Collaboration’s tool. Narrative synthesis of those included studies was performed.
Results: For the analysis of these criteria, two studies with low risk of bias and four of uncertain risk were included from 60 studies previously selected. PCR showed high clinical and radiographic success rates and only a study demonstrated reduced longevity of the restorations when partial caries removal method was performed.
Conclusions: There is evidence to support the PCR in primary teeth concerning the longevity of restorer treatment and clinical and radiographic success, however, additional clinical studies with low risk of bias should be performed to determined a more accurate evidence.