Pulp therapy in the primary dentition

Several treatment options for pulp therapy in primary teeth are reviewed. Conservative treatments are recommended for primary teeth whose pulps have the potential to recover once the irritation has been removed. The role of dentin permeability and microleakage is emphasized when protective basis and indirect pulp treatment are discussed. Alternative dressings for formocresol pulpotomies such as 6.25% glutaraldehyde solution, antigen-extracted allogeneic dentin matrix, and crude bone morphogenetic protein are reported with promising results. Pulpectomy is recommended for teeth with evidence of chronic inflammation involving radicular pulp or pulp necrosis with and without periapical involvement. The main disadvantage of zinc oxide-eugenol paste, widely used for primary root fillings in the United States, is its slow resorption rate, frequently much slower than that of the root. Other root canal pastes containing iodoform, or a modification of this with the addition of calcium hydroxide, are being utilized in South America, Japan, and Europe.