Purpose: This systematic review aimed to compare assessments of the healing of periapical endodontic surgery using conventional radiography and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods: This review of clinical studies was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist. All articles published from 1990 to March 2020 pertaining to clinical and radiographic healing assessments after endodontic surgery using conventional radiography and CBCT were included. The question was “healing assessment of endodontic surgery using cone-beam computed tomography.” The review was conducted by manual searching, as well as undertaking a review of electronic literature databases, including PubMed and Scopus. The studies included compared radiographic and CBCT assessments of periapical healing after periapical endodontic surgery. Results: The initial search retrieved 372 articles. The titles and abstracts of these articles were read, leading to the selection of 73 articles for full-text analysis. After the eligibility criteria were applied, 11 articles were selected for data extraction and qualitative analysis. The majority of studies found that CBCT enabled better assessments of healing than conventional radiography, suggesting higher efficacy of CBCT for correct diagnosis and treatment planning. A risk of bias assessment was done for 10 studies, which fell into the low to moderate risk categories. Conclusion Three-dimensional radiography provides an overall better assessment of healing, which is imperative for correct diagnosis and treatment planning.

Background: Inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) is known to have a lower success rate for anesthesia in patients with irreversible pulpitis. This calls for supplementary techniques to effectively anesthetize such patients.This systematic review aimed to evaluate the published literature for determining the success rate of anesthesia induction using post-IANB intraligamentary (IL) injection in the mandibular teeth of patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. The review question was, “What is the success rate of IL injection in the mandibular teeth of patients with irreversible pulpitis as a supplementary technique for endodontic treatment?” Methods: A thorough search of electronic databases and manual searches were performed. The protocol of the review was framed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist and was registered in the International Prospective Register of Ongoing Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) with a proper criterion for inclusion and exclusion of studies. The included studies were analyzed using the Cochrane Collaboration ‘‘Risk of Bias’’ tool. A meta-analysis that included a comparison of primary nerve block and supplemental IL injection was performed. The success rate was evaluated using the combined risk ratio (RR) with a random risk model. A funnel plot was created to measure publication bias. Results: After all analyses, four studies were included. In the forest plot representation, RRs were 3.56 (95% CI: 2.86, 4.44), which were in favor of the supplemental IL injections. Statistical heterogeneity was found to be 0%. These values suggest that supplemental IL injections provide better success rates for anesthesia. Conclusion According to the pooled qualitative and quantitative analyses, supplemental IL injections increased anesthetic efficacy.

Achieving profound anesthesia in mandibular molars with irreversible pulpitis is a tedious task. This review aimed at evaluating the success of buccal/lingual infiltrations administered with a primary inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) injection or as a supplemental injection after the failure of the primary injection in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with irreversible pulpitis in human mandibular molars. The review question was “What will be the success of primary and supplemental infiltration injection in the endodontic treatment of patients with irreversible pulpitis in human mandibular molars?” We searched electronic databases, including Pubmed, Scopus, and Ebsco host and we did a comprehensive manual search. The review protocol was framed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) checklist. We included clinical studies that evaluated and compared the anesthetic outcomes of primary IANB with primary and/or supplementary infiltration injections. Standard evaluation of the included studies was performed and suitable data and inferences were assessed. Twenty-six studies were included, of which 13 were selected for the meta-analysis.In the forest plot representation of the studies evaluating infiltrations, the combined risk ratio (RR) was 1.88 (95% CI: 1.49, 2.37), in favor of the secondary infiltrations with a statistical heterogeneity of 77%. The forest plot analysis for studies comparing primary IANB + infiltration versus primary IANB alone showed a low heterogeneity (0%). The included studies had similar RRs and the combined RR was 1.84 (95% CI: 1.44, 2.34).These findings suggest that supplemental infiltrations given along with a primary IANB provide a better success rate. L’Abbe plots were generated to measure the statistical heterogeneity among the studies. Trial sequential analysis suggested that the number of patients included in the analysis was adequate. Based on the qualitative and quantitative analyses, we concluded that the infiltration technique, either as a primary injection or as a supplementary injection, given after the failure of primary IANB, increases the overall anesthetic efficacy.

This systematic review aimed to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of cryotherapy in the reduction of postendodontic pain. The review question was, "What will be the success rate of cryotherapy technique among human patients with postendodontic pain?”. The review protocol was framed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist. Six studies were included in the review, and quantification of five studies was performed through a meta-analysis. In the forest plot representation of the studies comparing the control and cryotherapy groups in terms of the success rate in the management of postendodontic pain, the combined risk ratio (RR) was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.56 to 1.13) with a P value of 0.20. Based on the quantitative analysis, it can be suggested that intracanal cryotherapy does not play a significant role in reducing postendodontic pain.

Achieving profound anesthesia in mandibular molars with irreversible pulpitis is a tedious task. This review aimed at evaluating the success of buccal/lingual infiltrations administered with a primary inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) injection or as a supplemental injection after the failure of the primary injection in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with irreversible pulpitis in human mandibular molars. The review question was “What will be the success of primary and supplemental infiltration injection in the endodontic treatment of patients with irreversible pulpitis in human mandibular molars?” We searched electronic databases, including Pubmed, Scopus, and Ebsco host and we did a comprehensive manual search. The review protocol was framed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) checklist. We included clinical studies that evaluated and compared the anesthetic outcomes of primary IANB with primary and/or supplementary infiltration injections. Standard evaluation of the included studies was performed and suitable data and inferences were assessed. Twenty-six studies were included, of which 13 were selected for the meta-analysis.In the forest plot representation of the studies evaluating infiltrations, the combined risk ratio (RR) was 1.88 (95% CI: 1.49, 2.37), in favor of the secondary infiltrations with a statistical heterogeneity of 77%. The forest plot analysis for studies comparing primary IANB + infiltration versus primary IANB alone showed a low heterogeneity (0%). The included studies had similar RRs and the combined RR was 1.84 (95% CI: 1.44, 2.34).These findings suggest that supplemental infiltrations given along with a primary IANB provide a better success rate. L’Abbe plots were generated to measure the statistical heterogeneity among the studies. Trial sequential analysis suggested that the number of patients included in the analysis was adequate. Based on the qualitative and quantitative analyses, we concluded that the infiltration technique, either as a primary injection or as a supplementary injection, given after the failure of primary IANB, increases the overall anesthetic efficacy.

This review aims to identify the influence of the vehicle and its concentration used to carry calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2 ) medicament on postoperative pain.The protocol for this review was registered in the open science framework (Registration DOI-10.17605/OSF.IO/ 4Y8A9) and followed the guidelines provided by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Reporting was based on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Literature screening and searches were performed on PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and EBSCO hosts. Furthermore, additional records were manually analyzed using various sources. The selected studies were published in English and included the use of any vehicle adjunct to Ca(OH)2 to evaluate postoperative pain using qualitative and quantitative pain assessment tools. Descriptive analysis was conducted to review the study design, vehicle elements, and their effects.A preliminary search yielded 7584 studies, of which 10 were included. According to the data collected, the most commonly used Ca(OH)2 vehicles were chlorhexidine (CHX), normal saline, and camphorated paramonochlorophenol/glycerine (CPMC/glycerine), which had a significant effect on postoperative pain. Among the included studies, six evaluated the effect of CHX as a vehicle. It was observed that a higher concentration of the vehicle (2%) showed a favorable response in reducing postoperative pain.A majority of studies have validated a positive consequence of using a vehicle on postoperative pain. Although higher vehicle concentrations were found to alter postoperative pain levels, the data were insufficient to draw a firm conclusion. Our scoping review indicates that further clinical studies should focus on using different vehicles at various concentrations and application times to check for feasible and safe exposure in addition to providing pain relief.