Long-term evaluation of direct pulp capping--treatment outcomes over an average period of 6.1 years

To assess the treatment outcomes of direct pulp capping with calcium hydroxide, 248 teeth were examined 0.4-16.6 years (mean, 6.1 ± 4.4) after pulp capping. Only teeth diagnosed to be clinical healthy or with spontaneous pain were capped. The treatment outcome was assessed by interviewing for signs or symptoms responsiveness and sensibility testing with CO(2). The overall survival rate was 76.3% after 13.3 years. Of the teeth, 80.2% were found to have a favourable treatment outcome. The pulps of 60-year-old patients showed a significant lower favourable treatment outcome when compared to patients younger than 40 years (p < 0.05). The treatment outcome was significantly less favourable in teeth restored with glass ionomer cement compared to all other teeth (p < 0.01). The likelihood to show an unfavourable treatment outcome after direct pulp capping was significantly higher for teeth with spontaneous pain than for teeth with clinically healthy pulps (p < 0.001). In addition, the likelihood for a tooth to become non-vital after direct pulp capping was significantly higher within the first 5 years after treatment than after more than 5 years (p < 0.001) after treatment.