Table 3.
Summary of study characteristics involving procedural aspects of the nonsurgical root canal treatment protocol.
| Study | Type of study; country | Sample size | Intervention | Time frame | OHRQoL measure | MID determined | Key findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pasqualini et al 201658 | Randomised clinical trial; Italy | 47 patients (23 rotary, 24 reciprocating) | Reciprocating instrumentation vs rotary instrumentation | Every day from the day of surgery to 7 days postoperatively | POQoL questionnaire | No | OHRQoL improved with time (POQoL score decreased). Perceived OHRQoL was significantly better for the rotary group. |
| Bartols et al 201673 | Prospective study; Germany | 137 patients (71 reciprocating group, 66 hand file group) | Reciprocating instrumentation vs hand instrumentation | In the week before treatment and in the week before completion of treatment (ie, 14 days after initial treatment) | OHIP-14 German version | No | OHRQoL improved (OHIP-14 scores decreased) significantly after root canal treatment. No significant difference of OHRQoL (OHIP-14 scores) between groups. |
| Yaylali et al 201761 | Randomised controlled trial; Turkey | 70 (35 with foramen enlargement, 35 without) | Foraminal enlargement vs no foraminal enlargement |
Every day from the day of surgery to 7 days postoperatively | QoLS | No | No significant difference of OHRQoL (QoLS scores) between groups. |
| Oliveira et al 201874 | Randomised clinical trial; Brazil |
58 patients (29 reciprocating, 29 rotary) | Reciprocating instrumentation vs rotary instrumentation | 24 hours after treatment | OHIP-14 Brazilian version | No | No significant difference of OHRQoL (OHIP-14 scores) between groups. Higher postoperative pain (VAS score) was associated with poorer OHRQoL (higher OHIP-14 score). |
| Yavari et al 201959 | Randomised clinical trial; Iran | 196 patients (64 dexamethasone, 66 betamethasone, 64 saline) | Local infiltration of betamethasone vs dexamethasone vs saline after 1-visit root canal treatment | Before treatment; 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours after treatment; and 7 days after treatment | POQoL questionnaire | No | Both the corticosteroid groups had significantly higher OHRQoL (POQoL scores) than the placebo group. A decrease in pain was associated with an increased in OHRQoL (POQoL scores). |
| Diniz-de-Figueiredo et al 202065 | Randomised controlled trial; Brazil | 88 patients at 6 months (46 manual group, 42 reciprocating group); 87 patients at 12 months (42 manual group, 45 reciprocating group) | Reciprocating instrumentation and single cone obturation vs hand file instrumentation and lateral compaction obturation | Prior to treatment and 6 and 12 months after treatment | OHIP-14 Brazilian version | Yes | OHRQoL improved (OHIP-14 scores decreased) significantly after root canal treatment with moderate to large effect sizes. At 6 months, the manual protocol was associated with poorer OHIP-14 scores. At 12 months, there was no significant difference between groups. There was no significant difference between 6-month and 12-month OHIP-14 scores within groups. |
MID, minimal important difference; OHIP-14, Oral Health Impact Profile-14; OHRQoL, oral health-related quality of life; POQoL, Postoperative Quality of Life; QoLS, Quality of Life Scale; VAS, visual analogue scale.