Review of “Healing of 295 Endodontic Microsurgery Cases after Long-Term (5-9 Years) versus Middle-Term (1-4 Years) Follow-up” by Pallarés-Serrano and Colleagues in Journal of Endodontics 2022; Article in Press

Abstract

Meticulous analysis for almost 300 endodontic microsurgery cases is an impressive work performed by six Spanish authors and presented on eight pages of the well-written paper. The purpose of the study was brilliantly accomplished by performing a comparison of healing rates after 1-4 versus 5-9 years of follow-up. The authors emphasize that the duration of follow-up is a key parameter for the final evaluation. In the cohort (a group of patients with a shared characteristics) with a shorter follow-up (1-4 years), the healing rate was 67.2 percent versus 86.9 percent in the cohort with a longer follow-up (5-9 years). Moreover, the study revealed – when the vertical root fracture cases are excluded from the study, in the patients with 1-4 years of follow-up, the healing rate was 92.5 percent, versus 82.6 percent in those with 5-9 years of follow-up. The authors also stated that the crestal bone level in relation to the cementoenamel junction of the tooth influences the prognosis. The prognosis is worse in cases when the probing depth is more than 3 mm.