[Success rate of direct pulp capping with calcium hydroxide]

Aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the success rate of direct pulp-capping treatment using calcium hydroxide-containing agents according to the age of the patient, the type of tooth and the person who performed the treatment. Over a period of seven years a total of 659 patients were treated. 763 direct pulp-cappings were recorded. From these 308 patients a total of 359 pulp-cappings (= 100%) were reexamined one to eight years after treatment. 45.1% of the reexamined teeth were in males and 54.9% in females. 61.7% of the treated teeth were in the upper and 38.8% in the lower jaw. Out of the 359 teeth (= 100%) the success rate was 61% (219 teeth); while 113 teeth (31.4%) had received a root canal treatment and 27 (7.6%) had been extracted. In this study the success rate depended on the group of teeth. It decreased continuously from the anterior teeth to the molars. The central incisors showed the highest (83.3%) and the wisdom teeth the lowest (38.9%) success rate. In addition, the success rate decreased with increasing age of the patients. The most successful treatments (76.4%) were registered in the group of patients, aged 10-19 years.