Profile of articles addressed to dental pulp revascularization in PubMed database

Abstract

Introduction: The study aimed to explore the profile of articles published on pulp revascularization by a bibliometric analysis. Material and methods: A search was conducted on the PubMed database and studies were independently categorized according to: (i) year of publication; (ii) country where the study was conducted; (iii) study design; (iv) main topic addressed; (v) main conclusion of the article; and (vi) clinical application/other results. Findings were reported descriptively. There was not restriction regarding to initial date and the established final date was December 2014. Results: 133 studies were found; but only 86 articles were included. The most of them was published recently (23.2% in 2014) and were conducted in 24 different countries. The most frequent study design was case report (37.2%), followed by narrative reviews (16.2%). The main topic addressed was the radiographic outcomes (38.3%) and tissue engineering (19.7%). Some of the articles point the clinical application of their results. Conclusion: Most of the publications highlight that the disinfection of the root canal (and the stimulation of residual stem cells) would induce formation of new hard tissue on the dentin wall and continue root development in length, improving the tooth survival. The number of publications on pulp revascularization has increased recently, but the majority of articles published are studies with low levels of evidence.