Apexification: A systematic review

J Conserv Dent. 2018 Sep-Oct;21(5):462-465. doi: 10.4103/JCD.JCD_96_18.

Abstract

Pulpal necrosis in permanent teeth that have not completed their root development leads to teeth with a very short root, roots with very thin walls, and an inadequate crown-root ratio, which overshadows their survival prognosis. Currently, there are various therapies to treat immature permanent teeth with pulpal pathology such as the case of apexification. An electronic search was performed in the PubMed database (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), Scopus (www.scopus.com), Cochrane (www.cochrane.org) to identify the clinical investigations related to evolution of the cases. The search of the literature of clinical studies on permanent teeth with open apex that present pulpar pathology and that need treatment, have been found 11 clinical studies of treatments with apexification. The apexification by calcium hydroxide has been applied for many years back to the present as a valid therapy to perform the treatment of apexification.

Keywords: Apexification; endodontic treatment; immature permanent teeth; pulp regeneration; revascularization.

Publication types

  • Review