Methods of Intracanal Reinforcement in Primary Anterior Teeth—Assessing the Outcomes through a Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Aim: To assess how the various methods of intracanal reinforcement (short root canal posts) performed in their clinical and radiographic outcomes for restoring grossly broken down primary anterior teeth after pulpectomy for 1 year or longer follow-up period.Materials and methods: Literature search of electronic databases (Sept 2013) and various journals (1980-Sept 2013) using medical subject headings and free text terms was conducted. For inclusion in quality assessment, prespecified inclusion criteria were applied. Quality assessment was performed by using ‘The Cochrane collaboration’s tool for assessing risk of bias’.Results: Seven relevant papers were selected for full text evaluation. After applying the inclusion criteria, only two trials could be considered for quality assessment. Both of these were classified as having high risk of bias.Conclusion: The evidence to support any method of intracanal reinforcement for restoring grossly broken down anterior teeth is presently lacking. Further trials with well-defined methodology are needed.How to cite this article: Mittal N, Bhatia HP, Haider K. Methods of Intracanal Reinforcement in Primary Anterior Teeth– Assessing the Outcomes through a Systematic Literature Review. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2015;8(1):48-54.

A Predictable Aesthetic Rehabilitation of Deciduous Anterior Teeth in Early Childhood Caries

“…In the past, the only treatment option for severely decayed teeth was to extract them and replace them with a prosthesis till the permanent successors erupted. However, with the numerous techniques and materials [ 2 ] available now, we are duty-bound to encourage the parents to succumb to extraction only as a last resort while making every effort to salvage these teeth till their natural exfoliation time. The importance of preserving the primary teeth, the role of primary teeth in preventing future malocclusions, and the consequences of premature loss of primary teeth, if explained to the parents well, will lead to more number of primary teeth being restored rather than being extracted.…”

“…A diversity of techniques have been used for intracanal reinforcement of anterior teeth, such as metal screw posts, Ni-Cr coil spring posts, short composite posts, biologic posts which are procured from a tooth bank, short wire posts (omega or gamma loop), ready-made glass fibre posts, and polyethylene fibre posts/Ribbond. The coronal tooth structure may be reestablished by direct incremental composite buildup, composite buildup using celluloid strip crowns, indirect composite buildup, and biological shell crowns [ 2 ]. In this patient, gamma loop posts were used for the central incisors and Ribbond posts for the lateral incisors, and the coronal structures were replaced with free-hand direct composite buildup.…”

“…Wire curved in the form of alpha is pressure-bonded within the root canals, and this may cause stresses in the dentine. Although with wire curved in the form of gamma, a success rate of 93% has been reported [ 2 ].…”

“…Ribbond fibre posts offer good impact strength to composite resin used for coronal reconstruction. This is because of their modulus of elasticity and flexural strength being close to dentine [ 2 ]. In Ribbond, the fibres are not arranged longitudinally and are instead woven in alternating patterns.…”

“…This expectation of the parents cannot be denied, and the final outcome is that more teeth are being restored than used to be during the last century. Not surprisingly, there are diverse techniques and materials [ 2 ] that are being used to maintain the primary teeth in the oral cavity of children in a healthy condition. It is the responsibility of the pediatric dentist to choose the technique and the material that best suit the patient's condition.…”