Forces and movements during tooth extraction: A scoping review

The aim of this scoping review was to provide a clear and comprehensive overview of the available literature on forces and movements during tooth extraction. A systematic search strategy was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science (Core Collection) and Scopus from inception up to February 11th, 2022. All literature in which tooth extractions were performed and forces and/or movements were measured quantitatively were included. A total of 1975 articles were screened and after selection 17 articles were included for qualitative synthesis. Among others, the following data was collected: characteristics of measurements, type of study, material, types of teeth extracted, method of extraction, clinical metadata, and outcome measure. For most included papers the translation of the reported data to clinically relevant results was difficult. Most included articles only measured forces and torques (n = 16) and no movements. Furthermore, measurements were performed in only one or two of the six axes of movement (three translational axes and three rotational axes) (n = 15). In addition, a large heterogeneity in outcome measures was reported and the reported metadata in the papers is scarce, especially in the in vitro and ex vivo studies. In conclusion, this scoping review showed a strong limitation of our fundamental knowledge of these frequently performed procedures. More quantitative research is necessary to improve our understanding of the tooth extraction procedure.