Clinical applications and outcomes of the surgical tooth extrusion technique: A bibliometric analysis from 1982 to 2023

The surgical extrusion technique has been advocated for severely damaged teeth, as well as for intruded and unerupted teeth. However, a quantitative literature analysis is lacking. The purpose of this bibliometric analysis was to provide a comprehensive overview of surgical extrusion, assess the applications and outcomes, and evaluate topics for future research. An electronic search was conducted in leading databases in April 2023. Human studies with surgical tooth extrusion or synonyms in titles or abstracts were included. A bibliographic analysis, co-occurrence analysis, and coupling of publications were performed. The analysis of variance was used to assess the characteristics of the subgroups based on indications. The survival rate was evaluated by using the Kaplan-Meier method in the R software program (α=.05). Fifty-one studies from 1982 to 2023 were included. The Journal of Dental Traumatology and the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry combined published approximately one-third of the papers and acquired the most citations. The burst detection of keywords revealed 4 popular research topics: the Benex extraction system, chlorhexidine for infection control, rigid or semi-rigid splints to decrease the risk of complications, and novel restorative materials to improve esthetics. An overall survival rate of 96.36% was reported among 316 participants with 330 extruded teeth. No significant differences were found in study types, geographic distribution, year of publication, or citation counts among the 4 subgroups (surgical extrusion for subgingival fractures, extensive caries, intruded teeth, and unerupted teeth). A significant difference was observed among the Kaplan-Meier curves of the 4 subgroups (P=.030). Surgical extrusion may be used to save otherwise nonrestorable teeth, and the procedure has shown promising survival rates when teeth are properly selected and the procedure is well executed. Subgingival fractures and extensive caries near bone level are the predominant indications, as well as intruded and unerupted teeth. Surgical extrusion is a reliable treatment option to facilitate tooth restoration for severely damaged teeth, especially for maxillary anterior teeth.