A review of the literature on the efficacy of mineral trioxide aggregate in conservative dentistry.

The aim of this literature review was to assess the clinical performance of MTA to establish the evidence level for its effectiveness in vital pulp therapy, perforation repair, and retrograde root canal filling. A comprehensive literature survey was performed via electronic databases of PubMed/MEDLINE. A total of 58 papers were reviewed in this study, of which 2 were systematic reviews/meta-analysis, 9 were randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and the rest were fallen into other categories. Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) provided better pulp protection as a direct capping material when compared with calcium hydroxide. As perforation repair materials, MTA demonstrated an excellent sealing ability in vitro. For periodontal tissues around a perforation, MTA provided normal healing processes in clinical trials. It is therefore concluded that MTA has a high potential in repairing perforations. MTA is the most promising material when used for retrograde root canal filling demonstrating normal healing in short/long term clinical outcomes.