Biodentine or Mineral Trioxide Aggregate as Direct Pulp Capping Material in Mature Permanent Teeth with Carious Exposure? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the success rate of direct pulp capping (DPC) with Biodentine in mature permanent teeth with carious vital pulp exposure compared to that of DPC with mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) by means of a systematic review and meta-analysis.

DATA SOURCES

The two authors searched independently the literature published through July 31, 2020, in five electronic databases (PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science Core Collection, the Wiley Online Library, and the SCOPUS database).

STUDY SELECTION

The research protocol was previously registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42020192511). Clinical studies that met the inclusion criteria were chosen and independently screened by the authors.

DATA EXTRACTION

A custom-designed spreadsheet was used to extract the data. The quality of each study was evaluated by means of the revised Cochrane risk of bias (ROB) tool or the ROB of nonrandomized studies of interventions tool.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Three randomized controlled trials and one retrospective study met the inclusion criteria. Only one study had a high risk of bias. The included studies reported data on a total of 95 participants with an age range of 8-51 years. No significant difference was observed in the overall treatment outcome when comparing Biodentine with MTA (Risk ratio=1.00, 95% confidence interval [0.93-1.07], p=1.00).

CONCLUSIONS

Biodentine had comparable clinical and radiographic success to that of MTA when used as a DPC agent in mature permanent teeth with carious vital pulp exposure. Additional high-quality studies are needed.