Longevity of stainless steel crowns on primary molars - A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Restoration of caries having multisurface involvement in primary teeth is a challenge to dentists. The success of the restoration often depends on its longevity. Hence, it is important to systematically review the longevity of stainless steel crowns (SSCs) on primary molars. Objectives: To determine the longevity of SSC and to determine the reasons of failure for the same. Data Sources: A systematic search was conducted in three databases: PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar for the studies published from January 1, 2009 to September 25, 2019. Cross references of the selected articles were also searched and hand searching was done for the studies whose full texts were not available through the electronic search. Gray literature was also searched for the studies according to the relevance of this review. Study Eligibility: Studies were included if they were published between January 1, 2009 and September 25, 2019, which included comparative assessment of SSCs and other multisurface restorations in primary teeth. The study setting should be clinical based. The study designs included in the review were prospective, retrospective, and randomized control clinical trials. Studies written in the English language and studies written in any other language but are possible to get translated into English were included. Reviews, letters to the editor, and short communications were not included in the review. Studies conducted in permanent dentition were not included. For meta-analysis, randomized control trials and retrospective studies were included. Results: 1398 records were identified through data search using search strategy in PubMed, Google Scholar, and through Gray literature. After further exclusion, the total number of articles came out to be 41. Finally, six articles were included in the systematic review. These articles were also subjected to meta-analysis. The pooled success rate for SSC over 12 months was shown to be 96.096%. This was seen to be significantly higher. Conclusion: SSCs showed good longevity than the other restorative materials on primary molars.