Cryotherapy: A new paragon in the field of endodontics

Abstract

The discussion on cryotherapy mechanism, its physiological effects, and many uses in the field of endodontics was motive of this review study. The chosen articles were limited to those which were published in English by using few specific keywords. An electronic search of research papers was conducted on the complete PubMed database using certain keywords. Using combinations of the pre-defined keywords, the last access was in January 2021. According to studies, using the intracanal cryotherapy approach in combination with irrigation under negative pressure relieves post-endodontic discomfort. It was also seen that DCT (deep cryogenic treatment) had successfully raised the cyclic fatigue resistance with 24-hour soaking time by 13% and with 6-hour only 1%. Anyhow, soaking time does not influence cutting efficiency. When combined with local anaesthesia, cryotherapy has a local anaesthetic effect by lowering the nociceptors activation threshold and the conduction velocity of pain signals. Therefore, in case of symptomatic apical periodontitis, cryotherapy is a straightforward and affordable adjunctive approach for reducing postoperative discomfort and for managing pulpal hemorrhage during critical pulp therapy. Also, unquestionably an essential step in treating edoema and discomfort following endodontic surgery.