Many procedures currently require the use of bone grafts to replace or recover bone volume that has been resorbed. However, the patient’s opinion and preferences must be taken into account before implementing any treatment. Researchers have focused primarily on assessing the effectiveness of bone grafts rather than on patients' perceptions. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore patients' opinions regarding the different types of bone grafts used in dental treatments. One hundred patients were randomly chosen participated in the study. A standardized survey of 10 questions was used to investigate their opinions regarding the different types of bone grafts used in dental treatments. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the different variables, and absolute frequencies and percentages were used as summary measures. A value of p <0.05 was selected as the threshold for statistical significance. The highest rate of refusal was observed for allografts and xenografts. The grafts with the lowest rates of refusal were autologous grafts (3 %) and alloplastics (2 %). No significant differences were found between the various types of bone grafts in the sociodemographic variables or the refusal/acceptance variable. Similarly, no significant relations were observed between a specific religious affiliation and the acceptance/refusal rates of the various types of graft. Allografts and xenografts elicited the highest refusal rates among the surveyed patients, and autologous bone and alloplastics were the most accepted bone grafts. Moreover, no differences were found in the sociodemographic variables or religious affiliations in terms of the acceptance/refusal rates of the different bone grafts.
This systematic review aimed at determining the effectiveness of autologous platelet concentrate (APC) in the treatment of immature necrotic teeth. An electronic search was performed on MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, SciELO, Lilacs, CENTRAL. Comparative clinical studies were included, in which APC was tested for pulp regeneration and radicular development. Selected articles underwent risk-of-bias assessment. Clinical and radiographic outcomes were considered. Three randomized parallel studies and one split-mouth case series were included. One study had low risk of bias and three studies had high risk. A total of 61 immature necrotic teeth were treated in 56 patients. Follow-up ranged between 12 and 18 months. All studies used platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in the test group, and one also used platelet-rich fibrin (PRF). After treatment, all teeth of control and experimental groups remained asymptomatic for the entire study duration. Only one study reported response to cold and electric pulp test, showing not significantly better outcomes for the test group. Similarly, periapical healing and apical closure were improved in the group treated with APC although statistical significance was not achieved (P = 0.08 and P = 0.06, respectively), probably due to the limited sample size. The teeth treated with PRP achieved significantly better thickening of the dentin walls (P = 0.01), and root lengthening (P = 0.001) than control teeth. Despite the potential effectiveness of APC in promoting root development of necrotic immature teeth, scarce evidence exists regarding this subject. In the studies evaluated in this review, platelet concentrates showed promising results that warrant further investigation.
26 November 2018 in Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews