Prevalence of Root Canal Treatments among Diabetic Patients: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

(1) Apical periodontitis (AP) is the inflammatory response of the periapical tissue to bacterial antigens and toxins arriving from inside the root canal after pulp necrosis. To control AP, it is necessary to interrupt the passage of antigens from the root canal to the periapex, which is achieved via a root canal treatment (RCT), which is the indicated endodontic therapy in cases of AP. The prevalence of root-filled teeth (RFT) is an indicator of the frequency of endodontic infections and the degree of dental care. Diabetes is associated with AP and has been identified as the main prognostic factor in RCT. The aim of this study was to carry out a systematic review with meta-analysis answering the following question: What is the prevalence of RFT among diabetic patients? (2) This study was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines 2020. A literature search was undertaken without limits on time or language until 12 January 2023 in PubMed-MEDLINE, Embase and Scielo. All studies reporting the prevalence of RFT among diabetic patients via radiographic examination; both panoramic and periapical radiographs were included. Meta-analyses were calculated with Open Meta Analyst software. The main outcome variable was the prevalence of RFT, calculated as the total number of RFT divided by the total number of teeth, which is expressed as a percentage. As a secondary outcome variable, the prevalence of diabetic patients with at least one RFT, expressed as a percentage, was also calculated. The quality of evidence of the included studies was analyzed according to the guidelines provided by the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine in Oxford. The risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale, which was adapted for cross-sectional studies. To estimate the variance and heterogeneity amongst the trials, the Higgings I2 test was employed. (3) Eight studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Four studies were classified as having a high risk of bias, and four were classified as having a moderate risk of bias. The prevalence of RFT was estimated for 37,922 teeth and 1532 diabetic patients. The overall calculated prevalence of RFT among diabetic patients was 5.5% (95% CI = 4.1–6.9%; p < 0.001). The percentage of diabetics who had at least one RFT was 42.7% (95% CI = 23.9–61.4%; p < 0.001). (4) This systematic review and meta-analysis concluded that the prevalence of RFT among diabetic patients is 5.5%. More than 40% of diabetics have at least one RFT. In daily clinics, dentists should suspect that patients are undiagnosed diabetics when multiple RCT failures are observed in the same patient.