Efficacy of the Resin Infiltration Technique in Preventing Initial Caries Progression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The resin infiltration technique, used as a microinvasive treatment for initial caries, seals white spot lesions on the tooth surface. The purpose of this systematic review was to perform a review on the effectiveness of resin infiltration in preventing initial caries progression. This review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRIMSA) guidelines. The searched databases included Embase, Scopus, Cochrane, and PubMed, and no filters were applied other than the English language. The heterogeneity level among the included studies was measured by I2, Tau2, and Q indices using CMA (version 2) software. A forest plot was applied to show the results and to estimate the effectiveness of resin infiltration technique. Eight articles were selected forthe quantitative analysis of data and preparation of evidence table. Results of the meta-analysis of all studies showed a risk ratio of 0.374 (95 percent confidence interval equals 0.291 to 0.480) which revealed that resin infiltration significantly reduced the risk of caries progression compared with the control groups (P<0.001). Within the limitations of this review, it can be asserted that the resin infiltration technique is effective in preventing initial caries progression in primary and permanent teeth.