title: The effect of periodontal therapy on the survival rate and incidence of complications of multirooted teeth with furcation involvement after an observation period of at least 5 years: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To systematically review the survival rate and incidence of complications of furcation-involved multirooted teeth following periodontal therapy after at least 5 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Electronic and manual searches were performed up to and including January 2008. Publication selection, data extraction and validity assessment were performed independently by three reviewers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-two publications met the inclusion criteria. Because of the heterogeneity of the data, a meta-analysis could not be performed. The survival rate of molars treated non-surgically was >90% after 5-9 years. The corresponding values for the different surgical procedures were: Surgical therapy: 43.1% to 96%, observation period: 5-53 years. Tunnelling procedures: 42.9% to 92.9%, observation period: 5-8 years. Surgical resective procedures including amputation(s) and hemisections: 62% to 100%, observation period: 5-13 years. Guided tissue regeneration (GTR): 83.3% to 100%, observation period: 5-12 years. The most frequent complications included caries in the furcation area after tunnelling procedures and root fractures after root-resective procedures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Good long-term survival rates (up to 100%) of multirooted teeth with furcation involvement were obtained following various therapeutic approaches. Initial furcation involvement (Degree I) could be successfully managed by non-surgical mechanical debridement. Vertical root fractures and endodontic failures were the most frequent complications observed following resective procedures.
authors.affiliation: Division of Fixed Prosthodontics, School of Dental Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huynh-Ba
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kuonen
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hofer
authors.forename: Jürg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.forename: Niklaus P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: Giovanni E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Salvi
mesh_terms: D019232:Dental Restoration Failure; D012534:Dental Scaling; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D017823:Furcation Defects / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D016557:Guided Tissue Regeneration, Periodontal / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D019647:Oral Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects; D017213:Root Caries / Q000209:etiology; D014082:Tooth Fractures / Q000209:etiology; D016388:Tooth Loss; D014092:Tooth Root / Q000601:surgery