Systematic review on alternative methods for caries removal in permanent teeth

INTRODUCTION: Dental caries is the most common chronic dental disease in the world. It is defined as a multifactorial microbial infectious disease characterized by demineralization of the inorganic and destruction of the organic substance of the tooth. The host, flora, and the substrate should be there for the formation of dental caries. There are various microorganisms responsible for caries. The treatment for caries is essential to prevent teeth from involving pulp, leading to further damage. There are various methods in removing caries such as minimally invasive technique, rotary method with different types of burs, chemomechanical caries removal, and lasers. There are no data in literature for various methods of removing caries in permanent teeth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Research question was formulated based on the PICO strategy. A comprehensive electronic literature search was conducted, independently by two reviewers. Based on the specified inclusion and exclusion criteria's, the selected articles were subjected to quality assessment and the risk of bias was evaluated. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of caries removal by various methods in permanent teeth. SEARCH STRATEGY: A search was performed in electronic database (i.e. PubMed and Medline) using search terms alone and in combination by means of PubMed search builder from January 1985 to January 2018. SELECTION CRITERIA: Studies were selected if they met the following criteria: in vivo studies comparing various methods of caries removal in permanent teeth. RESULTS: The search identified 338 publications, out of which 328 were excluded after examination of the title and 2 were excluded after examination of the abstract. Through the hand search, three articles were included. Eight articles were retrieved for more detailed evaluation from the search. A total of 11 publications fulfilled all the criteria for inclusion. CONCLUSION: With the available evidence, this review concludes that the studies included in this review have a high risk of quality evidence.