ReviewCureus2025
Evaluation of Dental Arch Space Changes and the Need for a Space Maintainer After Unilateral Loss of Maxillary First Primary Molar: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Space changes due to early exfoliation of primary teeth in mixed dentition have been an important aspect in pediatric dentistry as it can impact the dental growth of an individual. This systematic review aimed at examining the spatial changes in dental arches caused by the early loss of maxillary first primary molars and to evaluate whether a space maintainer was necessary in such cases. This review was registered at PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews) database (registration number: CRD42024566890) and performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. A search was done electronically for articles published in English from 2000 to 2023. In total, seven studies with the split mouth design involving early extraction of a maxillary deciduous first molar unilaterally were included. STATA version 17.0 (StataCorp LLC, College Stattion, TX, USA) was used to assess the random effects model, heterogeneity, and publication bias. Arch perimeter, arch length, arch width, intercanine width, and intercanine length were evaluated, along with the space alterations of the first and second molar (D + E) spaces before and following extraction. Significant space loss was observed between the control and extraction side (p = 0.02) at six months post-extraction. Other parameters such as the intercanine length (p = 0.01), intercanine width (p = 0.04), and arch perimeter (p = 0.04) also showed increased significant values at 8-10 months follow-up. Following the premature loss of the maxillary first primary molar, space loss occurred but did not significantly affect the arch perimeter, intercanine width, arch width, or length. Factors such as time elapsed since extraction, dental arch crowding, age of the patient, facial pattern, and intermolar relationships affected the treatment plan.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.