Evidence-based compendium of minimally invasive therapeutic dental procedures and materials

Systematic reviews have been recommended as providing the best source of evidence to guide clinical decisions and healthcare policy, and they receive more citations as nonsystematic reviews in peer-reviewed journals. However, they are also very technical by nature and make difficult reading for the general dental practitioner. Often, the findings of a lengthy systematic review may be condensed into a very few sentences that provide all information necessary for daily clinical practice. To give such easily discernable information to clinicians is the purpose of plain language summaries. These summaries by itself do not replace the function and merits of full systematic review articles. However, they do ease the wider comprehension and dissemination of its key findings. It is the purpose of this evidence-based compendium to provide such summaries from published systematic reviews that the author has initiated over the years in the field of minimally invasive dentistry, together with the invaluable assistance of collaborating institution around the world. During preparation of the plain language summaries, ample use was made of Dr C. Cate’s Visual Rx - Statin Calculator and Cates Plot in order to better illustrate systematic review results:

- accessed online at http://www.nntonline.net/visualrx/examples/statins/ (as per June 2011).

The compendium is structures into three sections: (i) General aspects of evidence in minimally invasive dentistry; (ii) Plain language systematic review summaries; (iii) Systematic review updates. It lies in the scope of future compendium editions to further reflect the unfolding evidence-based knowledge in this exciting new field of oral health care. However, as this publication can only include own systematic reviews by the author, readers are encouraged to consult further systematic review sources such as the MI Compendium, online (http://www.mi-compendium.org), as well as the database of the Cochrane collaboration

(http://www.cochrane.org).

List of contents

Preface 7

Section I - General aspects of evidence in minimally invasive dentistry

a. The need for evidence based scrutiny 9

b. The clinical value of systematic reviews 23

Section II – Plain language systematic review summaries

CONVENTIONAL GLASS-IONOMER CEMENTS

Glass-ionomer cement vs. resin as fissure sealants 43

Caries on restoration margins: Glass-ionomer cement vs. amalgam 48

Restoration failure: Atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) versus conventional amalgam restorations 52

Caries on restoration margins: Conventional glass-ionomer cement vs. resin-modified glass-ionomer cement 56

RESIN-MODIFIED GLASS-IONOMER CEMENTS

Remineralisation of hard tooth tissue: Resin-modified glass-ionomer cement vs. nonfluoride containing composite resin 58

Remineralisation of hard tooth tissue: Resin-modified glass-ionomer cement vs. fluoride containing composite resin 61

Caries-preventive effect: Resin-modified glass-ionomer cement vs. fluoride containing composite resin 64

Caries-preventive effect: Resin-modified glass-ionomer cement vs. non-fluoride containing composite resin 67

Resin-modified glass-ionomer cement vs. resin as fissure sealants 70

Pulp response: Resin-modified glass-ionomer cement vs. calcium hydroxide cement 73

Section III - Systematic review updates

a. Caries-preventive effect of glass ionomer and resin-based fissure sealants on permanent teeth: An update of systematic review evidence 81

b. Absence of carious lesions at margins of glass-ionomer cement and amalgam restorations: An update of systematic review evidence 113

Index 145