Question · asked by 1 review
Hydraulic calcium silicate cements (HCSC; MTA or Biodentine) vs Calcium hydroxide (CH): Overall success (composite of clinical and radiographic success)
- Population
- Vital permanent teeth (mature or immature) with deep or extremely deep caries and asymptomatic pulp or reversible pulpitis, undergoing direct pulp capping
- Intervention
- Hydraulic calcium silicate cements (HCSC; MTA or Biodentine)
- Comparison
- Calcium hydroxide (CH)
- Outcome
- Overall success (composite of clinical and radiographic success)
At 36-month follow-up, HCSC show higher odds of clinical and radiographic success than CaOH (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.43 to 3.84; ungraded subgroup).
What each review found
Include earlier review versionsNo studies found 0 · 0%GRADE not reported 2 · 66.7%Very low 0 · 0%Low 0 · 0%Moderate 1 · 33.3%High 0 · 0%
| Finding | Effect | Studies | GRADE certainty |
|---|---|---|---|
Hydraulic calcium silicate cements (HCSC; MTA or Biodentine) vs Calcium hydroxide (CaOH) Clinical and radiographic success · Vital permanent teeth (mature or immature) with deep or extremely deep caries and asymptomatic pulp or reversible… · 36 months, Primary or secondary dental care, 36-month follow-up At 36-month follow-up, HCSC show higher odds of clinical and radiographic success than CaOH (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.43 to 3.84; ungraded subgroup). Effectiveness of calcium hydroxide compared to hydraulic calcium silicate cements for direct pulp capping in… (2025) All outcomes | OR 2.34 [1.43, 3.84] | 2 studies · 379 participants | GRADE not reported |
Hydraulic calcium silicate cements (HCSC; MTA or Biodentine) vs Calcium hydroxide (CaOH) Clinical and radiographic success · Vital permanent teeth (mature or immature) with deep or extremely deep caries and asymptomatic pulp or reversible… · 12 months, Primary or secondary dental care, 12-month follow-up At 12-month follow-up, HCSC show higher odds of clinical and radiographic success than CaOH (OR 4.44, 95% CI 1.63 to 12.07; ungraded subgroup). Effectiveness of calcium hydroxide compared to hydraulic calcium silicate cements for direct pulp capping in… (2025) All outcomes | OR 4.44 [1.63, 12.07] | 3 studies · 174 participants | GRADE not reported |
Hydraulic calcium silicate cements (HCSC; MTA or Biodentine) vs Calcium hydroxide (CaOH) Clinical and radiographic success · Vital permanent teeth (mature or immature) with deep or extremely deep caries and asymptomatic pulp or reversible… · >=12 months, Primary or secondary dental care Hydraulic calcium silicate cements probably increase clinical and radiographic success of direct pulp capping compared with calcium hydroxide (OR 2.68, 95% CI 1.70 to 4.22; moderate certainty). Effectiveness of calcium hydroxide compared to hydraulic calcium silicate cements for direct pulp capping in… (2025) All outcomes | OR 2.68 [1.7, 4.22] | 5 studies · 552 participants | Moderate |
Findings are shown side by side, never pooled across reviews.
The reviews
| Review | Searched up to | Included studies | AMSTAR 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effectiveness of calcium hydroxide compared to hydraulic calcium silicate cements for direct pulp capping in managing deep caries in vital… 2025 All outcomes | 2025-02-19 | 9 | High / Moderate |
Studies behind the findings
The primary studies the full-text reviews tie to this outcome. Reviews with headline outcomes only do not list them here.
- Examination of 6 and 12 month follow-up of calcium hydroxide and calcium silicate materials used in direct and indirect pulp capping. · 2025 · included by 1 of these review
- Efficacy of different calcium silicate materials as pulp-capping agents: Randomized clinical trial. · 2021 · included by 1 of these review
- Success of Direct Pulp Capping Using Mineral Trioxide Aggregate and Calcium Hydroxide in Mature Permanent Molars with Pulps Exposed during… · 2019 · included by 1 of these review
- Capping carious exposures in adults: a randomized controlled trial investigating mineral trioxide aggregate versus calcium hydroxide. · 2017 · included by 1 of these review
- Direct Pulp Capping with Calcium Hydroxide, Mineral Trioxide Aggregate, and Biodentine in Permanent Young Teeth with Caries: A Randomized… · 2017 · included by 1 of these review
How reviews are matched to this question
Reviews word the same question differently. Four decision models (TypeSafe's Jev, Liquid AI's d1-ultra, SubQ Snap and Baseten's Elephant) judged each wording of the population, intervention, comparator and outcome against the others; two wordings count as the same when at least three of them agree and none clearly disagrees, and findings count as this question only when all four elements match. Timing, setting and subgroup never split a question: they are shown on each finding.