Table 2.
A complete overview of the search methodology illustrating the keywords used and the number of records obtained for each online database.
| Provider search | Keywords | Number of records | Number of records after restriction by year of publication (last 40 years) | Number of remaining articles after screening for the latest review topic | Number of articles investigating the sterilization techniques of endodontic instruments and dental burs | Number of articles investigating the influence of sterilization techniques on changes or alterations of endodontic instruments | Number of articles investigating the role of endodontic sponges | Number of articles investigating the techniques of disinfection and sterilization of root canal obturation materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PubMed | “endodontic sterilization” | 316 records | 277 records | 71 articles | 39 articles | 22 articles | 4 articles | 6 articles |
| PubMed | “endodontic autoclave” | 37 records | 36 records | 26 articles | 18 articles | 5 articles | 3 articles | 0 |
| PubMed | “decontamination dental burs” | 11 records | 11 records | 4 articles | 4 articles | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PubMed | “sterilization dental burs” | 60 records | 57 records | 22 articles | 15 articles | 7 articles | 0 | 0 |
| PubMed | “gutta-percha cones sterilization” | 27 records | 23 records | 21 articles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 articles |
| PubMed | “gutta-percha points sterilization” | 12 records | 9 records | 7 articles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 articles |
| Scopus | “endodontic and sterilization” | 263 records | 263 records | 49 articles | 19 articles | 20 articles | 3 articles | 7 articles |
| Scopus | “endodontic and autoclave” | 50 records | 50 records | 27 articles | 6 articles | 18 articles | 3 articles | 0 |
| Scopus | “sterilization and dental burs” | 25 records | 24 records | 13 articles | 11 articles | 2 articles | 0 | 0 |
| Scopus | “decontamination and dental burs” | 6 records | 6 records | 5 articles | 5 articles | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scopus | “gutta-percha and cones and sterilization” | 24 records | 20 records | 15 articles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 articles |
| Scopus | “gutta-percha and points and sterilization” | 14 records | 11 records | 6 articles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 articles |
| PubMed-Scopus | Number of articles after age restrictions, screening, and subdivision by topic | 845 records (no removal of overlaps, no restriction by year of publication) | 761 records (number of records after restriction by year of publication, no removal of overlaps, no application of eligibility criteria) | 266 records (number of items after application of eligibility criteria) | 117 records (number of items after application of eligibility criteria) | 74 records (number of items after application of eligibility criteria) | 13 records (number of items after application of eligibility criteria) | 62 records (number of items after application of eligibility criteria) |
| Removal of overlaps | 130 | 57 | 38 | 4 | 31 |
Total articles after screening = 266; after overlaps, 130 were removed.