title: Prevalence of root canal treatment and periapical radiolucency in elders: a systematic review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Neither the prevalence of periapical radiolucency (PARL), a surrogate for disease, nor the prevalence of non-surgical root canal treatment (NSRCT) in elders have been subjected to systematic review. The purpose of this study was to conduct systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of PARL and NSRCT in elders.
  
  
  METHODS
  Inclusion/exclusion criteria were used for defined searches in MEDLINE and Cochrane CENTRAL. Title lists were scanned and abstracts read to determine utility; articles meeting the criteria were analyzed. Weighted mean percentages were calculated for prevalence of PARL, NSRCT, and PARL in both teeth with and without NSRCT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Defined searching produced 3576 titles; 29 prevalence articles were included. Patient samples mostly represented modern populations from countries with very high human development indices. Meta-analyses were performed on up to 74 000 elders' teeth. For those aged 65+, the prevalence of all teeth with NSRCT was extremely high, 21%; the prevalence of all teeth with PARL was quite high, 7%; the prevalence of PARL in NSRCT teeth was high, 25%; and the prevalence of PARL in untreated teeth was surprisingly high, 4%. In elders, the prevalence of NSRCT and PARL separately increased with age; whereas, PARL in NSRCT teeth decreased with age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In comparison to general adult populations, elders had: a much higher prevalence of NSRCT, a higher prevalence of PARL, a lower prevalence of PARL in NSRCT teeth, and a higher prevalence of PARL in untreated teeth. Teeth saved through NSRCT were preferentially retained by elders.
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hamedy
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Bita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shakiba
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jaclyn G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Pak
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Joao V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Barbizam
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Rikke S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Shane N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: White
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005850:Geriatric Dentistry; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D010483:Periapical Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012390:Root Canal Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019553:Tooth, Nonvital / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: elderly; epidemiology; geriatric dentistry; prevalence; radiolucency; root canal