Clinical and Radiographic Evaluation of Indirect Pulp Capping Agents in Very Deep Carious Lesions: Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Objectives: To compare the clinical performance of the different capping materials and calcium hydroxide in deep carious lesions. Methodology: Fourteen studies are obtained from the data base search in 4 different data base after eligibility criteria, this studies was eight of high quality, three of medium quality and two of low quality of evidence. Finding: Only three studies are included in the Meta analysis as they are equal in the follow up time, the comparator, intervention and outcome. The rest of the studies have different criteria with different outcome assessment. Conclusion: The I² statistic = 94% (p-value < 0.01) indicating considerable heterogeneity in the results, which means that the results are inconclusive. Therefore, it is recommended to further investigate the difference in treatment effects between glass ionomer and calcium hydroxide cements.