Magnusson 1977.

Study characteristics
Methods	RCT, parallel groups Duration of study: in 1 group, no follow‐up; in the other (SW), follow‐up associated with this treatment (6 weeks) Setting: 1 university in Sweden
Participants	62 children, 110 molars Age: 5–10 years Inclusion criteria: primary molars with deep carious lesions Exclusion criteria: signs of pulpitis (i.e. episodes of persistent or shooting pain, tooth that were tender to percussion), radiographic signs of pathological periradicular or internal pulp changes
Interventions	2 treatment arms Group 1 (62 participants, 55 teeth): excavation until all softened dentine had been removed; no information on final restoration measures and material. Group 2 (62 participants, 55 teeth): excavation until a thin layer of soft dentine remained on the pulpal cavity floor; washing of the cavity with a microbiocidal solution; covering of remaining carious tissue with calcium hydroxide; bonding of the dressing with a thin layer of cement; sealing of the cavity with zinc‐oxide‐eugenol cement; reopening after 4–6 weeks; removing of all softened tissue; no information on final restoration measures and material; in 9 cases a second period of 4 weeks of calcium‐hydroxide dressing was considered necessary.
Outcomes	Primary outcome Pulp exposure and pulpal complications between treatment steps (only for SW group)
Notes
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	High risk	If the child was born on an odd day of the month, the molar was excavated step by step; if born on an even day of the month, immediate complete removal of softened carious dentine.
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	High risk	Due to predictable nature. No concrete method for allocation concealment reported.
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	High risk	No blinding of participants/operators.
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	No blinding of assessor reported.
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	No attrition occurred.
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Unclear risk	No study protocol available – insufficient information to permit judgement of low or high risk of bias. Incomplete description of the intervention, i.e. on how complete excavation was defined.
Other bias	Unclear risk	Missing information on the depth of lesions in the included teeth.