A study evaluated the survival rate and incidence of complications of multirooted teeth with furcation involvement that had received periodontal treatment. It involved a Medline search and handsearching of the International Journal of Periodontics and Restorative Dentistry, Journal of Clinical Periodontology, Journal of Periodontal Research, and Journal of Periodontology, as well as reference lists of publications selected. Studies were screened and quality assessed independently by 2 reviewers. Review articles, case reports, studies less than 5 years in duration, and studies that did not provide information on tooth survival or furcation involvement were excluded. The 2 reviewed independently abstracted the data. Owing to the heterogeneity of the data, a meta-analysis could not be performed. A qualitative synthesis was conducted grouping the studies into the following areas: nonsurgical furcation therapy; surgical therapy not involving tooth structures; tunnelling surgical resective therapy (eg, root resection and/ or root separation); and guided tissue regeneration (GTR) and grafting procedures. The study found 22 publications that met the inclusion criteria. The survival rate of molars treated nonsurgically was > 90% after 5 to 9 years. The corresponding values for the different surgical procedures were: surgical therapy, 43.1% to 96% (observation period, 5 to 53 years); tunnelling procedures, 42.9% to 92.9% (observation period, 5 to 8 years); surgical resective procedures including amputation(s) and hemisections, 62% to 100% (observation period, 5 to 13 years); and GTR, 83.3% to 100% (observation period, 5 to 12 years). The most frequent complications included caries in the furcation area after tunnelling procedures and root fractures after root-resective procedures. It concluded that good long-term survival rates (up to 100%) of multirooted teeth with furcation involvement were obtained following various therapeutic approaches. Initial furcation involvement (degree 1) could be successfully managed by nonsurgical mechanical debridement. Vertical root fractures and endodontic failures were the most frequent complications observed following resective procedures.
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