The use of autologous platelet concentrates (APCs) in regenerative endodontic procedures is inconsistent and unclear. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the effectiveness of autologous platelet concentrates compared to traditional blood-clot regeneration for the management of young, immature, necrotic, permanent teeth. The digital databases MEDLINE, SCOPUS, CENTRAL, Web of Science, and EMBASE were searched to identify ten randomized clinical trials. The outcomes at postoperative follow-up, such as dentinal wall thickness (DWT), increase in root length (RL), calcific barrier formation (CB), apical closure (AC), vitality response (VR), and success rate (SR), were subjected to both qualitative synthesis and quantitative meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed that APCs significantly improved apical closure (risk ratio (RR) = 1.17; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.37; p = 0.04) and response to vitality pulp tests (RR = 1.61; 95% CI: 1.03, 2.52; p = 0.04), whereas no significant effect was observed on root lengthening, dentin wall thickness, or success rate of immature, necrotic teeth treated with regenerative endodontics. APCs could be beneficial when treating young, immature, necrotic, permanent teeth regarding better apical closure and improved response to vitality tests.

The aim of the present systematic review was to investigate the effect of residual bone height (RBH) and vertical bone gain on new bone formation (NBF) and graft shrinkage after lateral sinus lifts using different biomaterials. Methods: An electronic search was conducted on three databases to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published until January 2021 with at least one follow-up at 6 months and at least five patients treated, comparing biomaterials used for maxillary sinus augmentation with a lateral approach. Graft volumetric changes, RBH, vertical bone gain, implant failure, and post-operative complications were evaluated. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane tool. Results: We used 4010 identified studies, of which 21 were RCTs. Overall, 412 patients and 533 sinuses were evaluated. Only three publications had an overall low risk of bias. After 6 months, xenograft (XG) showed the least volume reduction (7.30 ± 15.49%), while autogenous graft (AU) was the most reabsorbed (41.71 ± 12.63%). NBF appeared to not be directly correlated with RBH; on the contrary, the overall linear regression analysis showed that NBF significantly decreased by 1.6% for each mm of postoperative vertical graft gain. This finding suggests that the greater the augmentation, the lower the NBF. A similar tendency, with a regression coefficient even higher than the overall one, was also observed with alloplast (AP) and XG. Conclusions: The present results suggested that NBF was essentially independent of preoperative bone height. On the contrary, the smaller the volume was of the graft placed, the higher the amount of new bone formed, and the smaller the graft shrinkage was. Minimizing the augmentation volume might be beneficial to graft healing and stability especially when using AP and XG.

The purpose of this article was to review the fluoride release and uptake ability of some restorative materials which are used for minimally invasive procedures. Methods: The literature search on published researches and review articles were carried out by using PubMed, Trip and Cochrane library databases. The search terms used were fluoride, restorative materials, atraumatic restorative treatment or ART, glass ionomer or GIC, resin modified glass ionomer cement or RMGIC. The articles included were between 2000 and 2015. Conclusion: Fluoride release varies with m factors including the type of restorative materials used and also the media in which it is stored. Fluoride uptake is dependent on the type of the cement and the availability of fluoride including fluoride releasing capacity in the material.

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