Do orthodontic movements of traumatized teeth induce dental pulp necrosis? A systematic review

Introduction Usually, orthodontic movements encompass children and young adult patients, which are more susceptible to the occurrence of traumatic dental injuries. It is necessary to understand whether the effects of orthodontic movements on traumatized teeth could induce pulp necrosis. The aim of this study was to answer the following question: Do orthodontic movements of traumatized teeth induce dental pulp necrosis?.Material and methodsSearches were performed for studies published up to May 11, 2023, in the MEDLINE/PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, SciELO Citation Index, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Grey Literature Report databases, without restriction for language or year of publication. The revised Cochrane risk of bias tools for nonrandomized interventions (ROBINS-I) was used to assess the quality of the included studies. The overall quality of evidence was assessed through the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) tool.ResultsOf 2671 potentially relevant studies, five were included. Four were classified as having a moderate risk of bias and one as a serious risk of bias. It was reported a higher susceptibility to pulp necrosis in teeth subjected to orthodontic movements with history of trauma involving periodontal tissues. Additionally, orthodontic movements of traumatized teeth with total pulp obliteration had an increased risk of pulp necrosis. GRADE analysis presented a moderate certainty of evidence.ConclusionsAn increased risk for pulp necrosis when traumatized teeth are subjected to orthodontic movements was verified. However, this is based on evaluations performed with subjective tests. Further well-designed studies are necessary to confirm this trend.

Automated summary

The aim of this study was to determine whether orthodontic movements of traumatized teeth could lead to dental pulp necrosis. Five relevant studies were included in the analysis, and it was found that teeth with a history of trauma involving periodontal tissues were more susceptible to pulp necrosis during orthodontic movements. However, further well-designed studies are needed to confirm these findings.