Relationship between quality of root canal obturation and periapical lesion in elderly patients: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between quality of root canal obturations and the presence/absence of periapical lesion in elderly patients. METHODOLOGY: This was a systematic conducted by means analysing studies on the quality of root canal obturations and their relationship with periapical health in elderly patients. The methodological procedures were based on Cochrane. The inclusion criteria for selection of the titles were the following: (i) studies in humans; (ii) sample consisting of individuals aged 60 years or older; (iii) intending criteria defined for the evaluation of quality of root canal obturations; (iv) intending criteria defined for the evaluation of periapical health; (v) determination of the relationship between quality of endodontic treatment and presence of periapical lesions; and (vi) articles published between 1st March 2003 and 1st March 2013. RESULTS: A total of 3161 potentially relevant studies were found in three databases chosen for the literature review, with 1669 being repeated and 395 duplicated. Therefore, the abstracts of 1097 studies were read. A total of 1022 studies were excluded, resulting in 75 articles for full analysis. However, no study could be included in the present literature review. CONCLUSION: There is no consensus on the relationship between the quality of root canal obturations and periapical health in older patients.