Pulp exposure occurrence and outcomes after 1- or 2-visit indirect pulp therapy vs complete caries removal in primary and permanent molars. An investigation of the relative efficacy of Buckley's Formocresol and calcium hydroxide in primary molar vital pulp therapy. Mineral trioxide aggregate vs. formocresol in pulpotomized primary molars: a preliminary report. Glutaraldehyde preparations and pulpotomy in primary molars. Ferric sulfate versus dilute formocresol in pulpotomized primary molars: long-term follow up. Clinical performance of esthetic posterior crowns in primary molars: a pilot study. Comparison of electrosurgical and formocresol pulpotomy procedures in children. A clinical and histological evaluation of conservative pulpal therapy in human teeth. The Hall Technique; a randomized controlled clinical trial of a novel method of managing carious primary molars in general dental practice: acceptability of the technique and outcomes at 23 months.
The purpose of this study was to examine whether 1- or 2-visit indirect pulp therapy (IPT) is more successful and to determine if the operator can successfully decide when to stop removing caries without exposing the pulp.
                A total of 154 teeth (94 primary second molars and 60 young permanent first molars) were included in the study from a total of 123 4- to 15-year-old patients. The teeth had deep carious lesions but lacked the preoperative signs and symptoms of irreversible pulpitis. The teeth were randomly selected and treated either with 1-visit IPT, 2-visit IPT, or direct complete excavation (DCE). Follow-up examinations were conducted on the teeth over 1 year at 3-month intervals.
                The pulp was exposed in 12 teeth (22%) treated by DCE, whereas 3 teeth (6%) were treated by 1-visit IPT and 4 teeth (8%) with 2-visit IPT. A statistically significant difference was found between IPT and DCE groups in terms of pulp exposure (P<.05). The teeth without pulp exposure showed normal clinical and radiographic conditions during the 1-year follow-up, except for 3 primary teeth.
                Indirect pulp therapy in both primary and young permanent teeth can be used successfully with a 1- or 2-visit approach. To compare the clinical and radiological outcomes following two different, single visit vital pulp therapy techniques, in cariously exposed primary molar teeth.
                A paediatric dental clinic within the Dental Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
                Fifty two child patients were sequentially enrolled in the clinical investigation, 26 males and 26 females with an age range of 3.3-12.5 years. Primary molar teeth requiring vital pulp therapy were randomly allocated to either the formocresol group (F) or the calcium hydroxide group (C). The total number of teeth treated was 84.
                Recruitment was on the basis of strict inclusion criteria. Coronal pulp amputation was prescribed only in teeth with vital, cariously exposed pulp tissue. Treatment was undertaken between October 1994 and December 1996. All cases were reviewed using predefined clinical and radiological criteria. The statistical tests used were logistic regression of a triple nested data structure, chi-squared analysis of equality of treatment and probability of success with relation to subject age.
                Eighty-four cariously exposed primary molars required vital pulp therapy. Forty six (55%) teeth were included in the F group and 38 (45%) allocated to the C group. Five teeth were lost to follow-up, leaving 79 teeth: forty four (56%) in group F and 35 (44%) in group C. Eighty four percent (37/44) of teeth treated with formocresol and 77 percent (27/35) treated with calcium hydroxide were classed as clinically and radiographically successful at the cut-off date, December 1997, after a mean clinical review of 22.5 months (range 6.1-38.5 months) and a mean radiographic review of 18.9 months (range 1.3-36.9 months).
                This investigation confirms the clinical efficacy of a one-fifth dilution of Buckley's Formocresol as an agent in pulp treatment of cariously exposed, vital primary molar teeth. However, calcium hydroxide in its pure, powder form is a clinically acceptable alternative when combined with strict selection criteria for this method of restorative care. There was a statistically insignificant difference in successful clinical and radiological outcome between the two treatment groups. Success was unrelated to the duration of time taken to achieve haemostasis and the presence or absence of bleeding after placement of the medicament. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) to that of formocresol (FC) as pulp dressing agents in pulpotomized primary molars with carious pulp exposure.
                Forty-five primary molars of 26 children were treated by a conventional pulpotomy technique. The teeth were randomly assigned to the MTA (experimental) or FC (control) group by a toss of a coin. Following removal of the coronal pulp and hemostasis the pulp stumps were covered with an MTA paste in the experimental group. In the control group, FC was placed with a cotton pellet over the pulp stumps for 5 minutes and removed; the pulp stumps were then covered by zinc oxide-eugenol (ZOE) paste. The teeth of both groups were restored with stainless steel crowns. Eighteen children with 32 teeth arrived for clinical and radiographic follow-up evaluation ranging from 6 to 30 months.
                The follow-up evaluations revealed only one failure (internal resorption detected at a 17 months postoperative evaluation) in a molar treated with formocresol. None of the MTA-treated teeth showed any clinical or radiographic pathology. Pulp canal obliteration was observed in 9 of 32 (28%) evaluated molars. This finding was detected in 2 out of the 15 teeth treated with FC (13%) and in 7 out of the 17 treated with MTA (41%).
                MTA showed clinical and radiographic success as a dressing material following pulpotomy in primary teeth and seems to be a suitable replacement for formocresol in primary teeth. The study clinically and radiographically evaluated the long-term success rate of pulpotomy treatment in pulp-exposed primary molars. Five clinicians participated in this study and four glutaraldehyde preparations included 2% buffered, 2% unbuffered, 5% buffered, and 5% unbuffered glutaraldehyde solutions were used. There were 201 children, 108 boys and 93 girls, ranging in age from 4 to 7 years with 258 primary molars treated. After 36 months, 150 teeth with complete clinical records and radiographs were available for evaluation. The treatment of 98% of the patients was clinically successful, but when evaluated radiographically the overall success rate was 78.7%. The group treated with 5% buffered glutaraldehyde showed the highest success rate (87.5%) and group treated with the 5% unbuffered solution the lowest (74.1%), but no significant difference was found among the four groups. Canal obliteration was noted in 22 teeth successfully treated. Four of the teeth that were not successfully treated had canal obliteration before other pathoses became evident. The relative high failure rate in this long-term follow-up indicated that clinicians should be cautious before extensively using glutaraldehyde as a pulpotomy agent. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of ferric sulfate (FS) to that of dilute formocresol (DFC) as pulp dressing agents in pulpotomized primary molars. Ninety-six primary molars in 72 children were treated by a conventional pulpotomy technique. Fifty-eight teeth were treated by a FS solution for 15 sec, rinsed, and covered by zinc oxide-eugenol paste (ZOE). In another 38 teeth, a cotton pellet moistened with 20% DFC was placed for 5 min, removed, and the pulp stumps were covered by ZOE paste. The teeth of both groups were sealed by a second layer of intermediate restorative material (IRM) and restored with a stainless steel crown. This is a report of the clinical and radiographic examination of 55 teeth dressed with FS and 37 teeth fixed with DFC, that have been treated 6 to 34 months previously (mean 20.5 months). Four teeth were excluded from the study due to failure of the patient to present for recall. Success rates of 92.7% for the FS, and of 83.8% for the DFC were not significantly different. Four teeth (7.2%) of the FS group and two (5.4%) of the DFC group presented internal resorption. Inter-radicular radiolucencies were observed in two teeth of the FS group and three teeth of the DFC group. The latter also presented periapical lesions. Success rates of both groups were similar to those of previous studies utilizing the traditional Buckley's formocresol. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the clinical performance of esthetic crowns and to compare these to conventional stainless steel crowns (SSC).
                Twenty two crowns (11 conventional and 11 esthetic) were placed in mandibular primary molars obeying the following criteria: the tooth was not mobile; no fistulae were present; the tooth had at least one caries free or properly restored antagonist and had to be in contact with one adjacent tooth mesially, in the case of the primary second molars or distally in the case of the primary first molars. Crown preparation was done in a conventional manner, but reduction was more extensive for the thicker esthetic crowns, to allow for proper occlusion. The crowns were evaluated clinically and radiographically after 6 months and the following parameters were assessed: gingival health, marginal extension, crown adequacy, proper position or occlusion, proximal contact, chipping of the facing (for esthetic crowns) and cement removal.
                At the 6 month evaluation all esthetic crowns were intact, without chipping of the facing, and no excess of cement was observed in both groups. No difference was found for marginal extension, occlusion, proximal contact, crown adequacy, and bone resorption, but a significant difference was found for periodontal health between esthetic crowns and conventional SSC (P < 0.001 McNemar test).
                The esthetic crowns assessed had several inconveniences, as they resulted in poor gingival health, are very expensive, and, although not measured, are bulky and without a natural appearance. Although previous studies have examined the electrosurgical pulpotomy technique for primary teeth, no well-controlled, clinical human trials have been published. The purpose of this study was to prospectively compare electrosurgical pulpotomies vs. formocresol pulpotomies in human vital primary molar teeth.
                Fifty children were randomly divided into two groups, 25 receiving an electrosurgical pulpotomy and 25 receiving a formocresol pulpotomy.
                After at least 5 months postoperative observation time, the clinical and radiographic success rates for the electrosurgical groups were 96 and 84%, respectively; and for the formocresol group, 100 and 92%, respectively.
                There were no statistically significant differences between the success rates for the two groups at the P < 0.05 level as tested by Fisher's exact test. This study failed to demonstrate a difference in the success rate between the electrosurgical and formocresol pulpotomy techniques. Three intermediary base materials, a zinc oxide-eugenol (Cavitec) and two calcium hydroxide liners (Life and Dycal), were selected at random for use as a base beneath amalgam or composite restorations on humans following complete caries removal. Life and Dycal, selected at random, were also used as direct and indirect pulp capping agents as clinically indicated. Clinical evaluations of signs and symptoms were made before treatment and at one-week, six-month, and one-year intervals following treatment. Histological evaluations were performed on three complete caries removal teeth and 18 direct pulp capping teeth six months following treatment. No significant differences in clinical symptomatology resulted between the materials in the complete caries removal group or the indirect and direct pulp capping groups. Scotland has high levels of untreated dental caries in primary teeth. The Hall Technique is a simplified method of managing carious primary molars using preformed metal crowns (PMCs) cemented with no local anaesthesia, caries removal or tooth preparation. This study compared the acceptability of the Hall Technique for children, their carers, and dentists, and clinical outcomes for the technique, with conventional restorations.
                General dental practice based, split mouth, randomized controlled trial (132 children, aged 3-10). General dental practitioners (GDPs, n = 17) in Tayside, Scotland (dmft 2.7) placed conventional (Control) restorations in carious primary molars, and Hall Technique PMCs on the contralateral molar (matched clinically and radiographically). Dentists ranked the degree of discomfort they felt the child experienced for each procedure; then children, their carers and dentists stated which technique they preferred. The teeth were followed up clinically and radiographically.
                128 conventional restorations were placed on 132 control teeth, and 128 PMCs on 132 intervention teeth. Using a 5 point scale, 118 Hall PMCs (89%) were rated as no apparent discomfort up to mild, not significant; for Control restorations the figure was 103 (78%). Significant, unacceptable discomfort was recorded for two Hall PMCs (1.5%) and six Control restorations (4.5%). 77% of children, 83% of carers and 81% of dentists who expressed a preference, preferred the Hall technique, and this was significant (Chi square, p < 0.0001). There were 124 children (94% of the initial sample) with a minimum follow-up of 23 months. The Hall PMCs outperformed the Control restorations:a) 'Major' failures (signs and symptoms of irreversible pulpal disease): 19 Control restorations (15%); three Hall PMCs (2%) (P < 0.000);b) 'Minor' failures (loss of restoration, caries progression): 57 Control restorations (46%); six Hall PMCs (5%) (P < 0.000)c) Pain: 13 Control restorations (11%); two Hall PMCs (2%) (P = 0.003).
                The Hall Technique was preferred to conventional restorations by the majority of children, carers and GDPs. After two years, Hall PMCs showed more favourable outcomes for pulpal health and restoration longevity than conventional restorations. The Hall Technique appears to offer an effective treatment option for carious primary molar teeth.
                Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN47267892 - A randomized controlled trial in primary care of a novel method of using preformed metal crowns to manage decay in primary molar teeth: the Hall technique.
Based on the available RCTs, there is no reliable evidence supporting the superiority of one type of treatment for pulpally involved primary molars. No conclusions can be made as to the optimum treatment or techniques for pulpally involved primary molar teeth due to the scarcity of reliable scientific research. High quality RCTs, with appropriate unit of randomisation and analysis are needed.