Root resorption of endodontically treated teeth following orthodontic treatment: a meta-analysis

The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate the effect of orthodontic treatment on root resorption of endodontically treated teeth compared to vital teeth.

A literature search was conducted in 18 electronic databases. Review articles and relevant articles were searched for cross-references. Two independent reviewers screened all articles according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria and extracted the corresponding data. The pooled estimate of mean difference of root resorption weighted by the fixed-effect model and the corresponding 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were used to construct a forest plot by implementing the "RevMan 5.1" software. Quality and heterogeneity assessments as well as publication bias evaluation and sensitivity analyses were performed. Inter-reviewer agreement for data selection, data extraction and quality analysis was evaluated by Cohen's kappa.

Six out of 1,942 original papers met the inclusion criteria. Four out of six studies were included in the quantitative analysis. Root resorption was less in endodontically treated teeth than in vital teeth (MD = -0.48 mm; 95 % CI = -0.81 to -0.14 mm). The funnel plot indicated no evidence of publication bias, while no data heterogeneity was present (I(2) = 0 %). However, the overall quality of the included studies was considered as "low."

Following orthodontic treatment, endodontically treated teeth exhibit relatively less root resorption than teeth with vital pulps.

Clinicians should consider orthodontic movement of endodontically treated teeth as a relatively safe clinical procedure.