Efficacy of Scaffolds with/without Stem Cells on Dogs’Class II and III Furcation Defects: Systematic Review

Background and Objective: Scaffolds are an important part in the healing of advanced stages of furcation defects either used alone or with seeded stem cells. There are different types of scaffolds and different types of stem cells used in the various studies. This systematic review aimed to test the null hypothesis of no difference between using scaffold alone and with stem cells as a treatment option for class II and III furcation defects on dog models, against the alternative one of a difference. Methods: Experimental animal studies were identified by the following electronic databases: Ovid Medline, PubMed, CENTRAL Cochrane Library, Latin American and Caribbean Health Science Literature, ProQuest, Scopus, and Google scholar. The search was done from January 2000 to 2019. In addition, hand searches were performed for related articles, and reference lists. Titles and abstracts of identified studies were independently screened by two authors. Full texts of studies judged by title and abstracts to be relevant were independently evaluated by another two authors for stated eligibility criteria. The eligibility criteria included randomized, non-randomized, controlled and uncontrolled experimental studies. Qualitative meta-synthesis was used to analyze data across qualitative studies. Results: The initial search identified 7070 references through the search process. After filtering, 2267 references were recorded and screened. After the eligibility criteria were applied, thirteen unduplicated studies were included in the qualitative metasynthesis. Conclusion: From the selected articles, it can be concluded that the efficiency of the scaffold with stem cells was better than scaffold alone. Scaffold enhanced the healing of furcation defects, while seeding stem cells (any type) allowed presence of formative cells that fasten the healing.