Non-Cochrane · intervention · PM42724711
The Effectiveness of Full Pulpotomy Versus Root Canal Therapy for Mature Teeth With Irreversible Pulpitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Alhajeri Abdullah A, Salem Salem J, Atash Yaser, et al. · Cureus · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.7759/cureus.114339
Findings
Population Patients with mature permanent teeth and irreversible pulpitis
15 findings
| Full pulpotomy | Root canal therapy | Postoperative pain score 7 days · Leave-one-out: omitted Patel 2025 | MD -0.17 [-0.5, 0.16] GRADE not reported 4 studies |
| Full pulpotomy | Root canal therapy | Postoperative pain score 7 days · Leave-one-out: omitted Asgary 2010 | MD -0.22 [-0.72, 0.27] GRADE not reported 4 studies |
| Full pulpotomy | Root canal therapy | Postoperative pain score 1 day · Leave-one-out: omitted Taha 2023 | MD -1.56 [-3.4, 0.29] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| Full pulpotomy | Root canal therapy | Postoperative pain score 1 day · Leave-one-out: omitted Zhu 2024 | MD -1.04 [-2.32, 0.24] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| Full pulpotomy | Root canal therapy | Postoperative pain score 1 day · Leave-one-out: omitted Patel 2025 | MD -2.27 [-3.26, -1.28] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| Full pulpotomy | Root canal therapy | Postoperative pain score 1 day | MD -1.6 [-2.99, -0.21] GRADE not reported 4 studies · 425 participants |
| Full pulpotomy | Root canal therapy | Postoperative pain score 1 day · Leave-one-out: omitted Sarı 2024 | MD -1.61 [-3.53, 0.32] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| Full pulpotomy | Root canal therapy | Postoperative pain score 7 days · Leave-one-out: omitted Zhu 2024 | MD -0.4 [-0.91, 0.1] GRADE not reported 4 studies |
| Full pulpotomy | Root canal therapy | Postoperative pain score 7 days · Leave-one-out: omitted Sarı 2024 | MD -0.41 [-0.91, 0.08] GRADE not reported 4 studies |
| Full pulpotomy | Root canal therapy | Postoperative pain score 7 days · Leave-one-out: omitted Taha 2023 | MD -0.37 [-0.86, 0.12] GRADE not reported 4 studies |
| Full pulpotomy | Root canal therapy | Postoperative pain score 7 days | MD -0.31 [-0.71, 0.1] GRADE not reported 5 studies · 832 participants |
| Root canal therapy | Full pulpotomy | Time to pain relief (hours) | MD 18.86 [12.58, 25.14] GRADE not reported 4 studies · 680 participants |
| Root canal therapy | Full pulpotomy | Postoperative analgesic use | RR 1.41 [0.87, 2.3] GRADE not reported 3 studies · 560 participants |
| Root canal therapy | Full pulpotomy | Moderate-to-severe postoperative pain 7 days | RR 1.73 [0.71, 4.21] GRADE not reported 4 studies · 680 participants |
| Root canal therapy | Full pulpotomy | Clinical or radiographic treatment success | RR 1.0 [0.81, 1.24] GRADE not reported 4 studies · 680 participants |
Included primary studies 5
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taha 2023 A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial of Pulpotomy versus Root Canal Therapy in Mature Teeth with Irreversible Pulpitis: Outcome, Quality… PMID:37080387 | 2023 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Asgary 2010 The effect of pulpotomy using a calcium-enriched mixture cement versus one-visit root canal therapy on postoperative pain relief in… PMID:20652790 | 2010 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Patel 2025 The short-term postoperative pain and impact upon quality of life of pulpotomy and root canal treatment, in teeth with symptoms of… PMID:39325552 | 2025 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Sarı 2024 Postoperative pain after total pulpotomy and root canal treatment in mature molars according to the new and traditional classifications of… PMID:39266985 | 2024 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Zhu 2024 Full pulpotomy versus root canal therapy in mature teeth with irreversible pulpitis: a randomized controlled trial. PMID:39415163 | 2024 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
Overlap with other reviews
Reviews that include the same primary studies are not independent evidence. Shared counts match studies by PMID, DOI or NCT, and otherwise by author and year (a probable match). Only the non-Cochrane dental reviews have study lists, so overlap with Cochrane reviews is not counted yet.
| Review | Shared studies | Jaccard |
|---|---|---|
| Effect of root canal filling techniques and materials on endodontic treatment outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. (2026) | 1 | 0.01 |
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Mature permanent teeth with irreversible pulpitis | Mature teeth with irreversible pulpitis (n=832 in 5 trials) |
| Intervention | Full pulpotomy | Full pulpotomy (n=408) |
| Comparison | Root canal therapy | Root canal therapy (n=424) |
| Outcomes | Primary: pain at seven days. Secondary: pain at one day; moderate-to-severe pain at seven days; time to pain relief; clinical or radiographic success; postoperative analgesic use | Pain at 7 days (5 trials); pain at 1 day (4); time to pain relief (4); moderate-to-severe pain at 7 days (4); success (4); analgesic use (3) |
| Study designs | Randomized controlled trials | 5 RCTs (Iran, UK, Turkey, Jordan, China) |
| Timing | Primary outcome at 7 days | Recruitment 2008 to 2023; follow-up from 7 days to 12 months or longer |
AMSTAR 2 items
Two independent extractors rated each item. Their ratings are shown side by side because they have not been reconciled yet. The overall rating follows Shea et al. 2017: one critical flaw gives Low, more than one gives Critically Low.
| Item | Extractor A | Extractor B | Agree |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Research question includes PICO components | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 2Protocol established before the reviewcritical | No | No | yes |
| 3Choice of study designs explained | No | No | yes |
| 4Comprehensive literature searchcritical | Partial Yes | Partial Yes | yes |
| 5Study selection in duplicate | No | No | yes |
| 6Data extraction in duplicate | No | No | yes |
| 7List of excluded studies with reasonscritical | No | No | yes |
| 8Included studies described in detail | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 9Risk of bias assessed satisfactorilycritical | NRSI: N/A · RCT: Yes | RCT: Yes · NRSI: N/A | no |
| 10Funding of included studies reported | No | No | yes |
| 11Appropriate meta-analysis methodscritical | NRSI: N/A · RCT: Yes | RCT: Yes · NRSI: N/A | no |
| 12Impact of risk of bias on the pooled results | Yes | No | no |
| 13Risk of bias accounted for in interpretationcritical | Yes | No | no |
| 14Heterogeneity explained | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 15Publication bias investigatedcritical | No | No | yes |
| 16Conflicts of interest reported | Yes | Yes | yes |
| Overall | Critically Low | Critically Low | yes |