Root Canal Filling Materials for Primary Teeth: a Systematic Review

Objective: to perform a systematic review concerning filling materials for root canal treatment of primary teeth with irreversible pulp changes. Method: a literature survey of the electronic database covering the period from 1966 to October 2007 used the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and free text terms: “pulpectomy” or “root canal preparation” or “root canal irrigants” or “root canal obturation” or “root canal filling materials” combined to “Tooth, Deciduous” or “Primary teeth” and limited to “clinical trial” or “randomized clinical trial”. In addition, a hand search was performed. All articles were reviewed and assessed according to following criteria: prospective randomized clinical trials; root canal treatment and evaluation performed by clinical and radiographic criteria, during at least twelve months. Results: A total of 54 abstracts were retrieved from the selected databases and among these 11 articles were selected. After reading the full articles, 9 were rejected because of study design bias. The two remaining articles indicated there was some evidence with regard to the efficacy of root canal treatment, although there was no agreement about which root canal filling material should be used. Conclusion: In primary teeth with irreversible pulp changes, root canal treatment is effective for maintaining teeth in the dental arch although long-term randomized and controlled clinical trials should address with strong evidence the effectiveness of currently used materials used for root canal treatment of primary teeth.