Summary
The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature of in vitro studies comparing the mechanical properties of teeth restored after selective caries excavation (SCE) and complete caries excavation (CCE). The PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE electronic databases were searched systematically. In vitro studies investigating the mechanical properties of teeth restored after SCE, were independently checked by two authors. Inclusion criteria were: (1) performing SCE (2) mentioning the teeth were later restored, and (3) evaluating mechanical properties of the restored teeth. Meta-analysis was performed with and without discriminating between shallow and deep lesions. From 1,859 potentially eligible studies, 14 were selected for full text analysis and 5 were included in the meta- analysis. Fracture resistance was significantly lower after SCE than after CCE in overall analysis (SMD[95%CI]=-1.62[-3.04,-0.20]) and for deep lesion (SMD[95%CI]=-1.62[-2.62,-0.61]), whereas cuspal deflection at 200 and 400N was significantly higher after SCE than after CCE for discriminated and non- discriminated analyses. Furthermore, for shallow lesions the risk of catastrophic fracture was significantly lower after SCE than CCE (RR[95%CI]=0.58[0.43,0.78]). The included studies presented low and medium risk of bias. The mechanical behavior of restored teeth seems to be affected by the excavation strategy. Although there is a tendency for lower fracture resistance and higher cuspal deflection after SCE, there is a lower risk of catastrophic failure when compared to CCE. However, this conclusion is based on very few in vitro studies.
KEY WORDS: teeth, mechanical properties, caries, systematic rewiew.
How to cite this article
CORRAL-NÚÑEZ, C.; MEYER-LUECKEL, H.; ARAYA-CABELLO, I.; MARTIN, J.; ESTAY, J. & WIERICHS, R. J. Mechanical properties of teeth restored after selective caries excavation. Systematic review and meta-analysis. Int. J. Odontostomat., 15(1):204-212, 2021.
