Healing of primate dental pulps capped with Teflon

The pulps of Rhesus monkey teeth were exposed and capped with three materials: Teflon, a commercial hard-set calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) material, and Ca(OH)2 plus saline. Experimental test periods were 3, 10, and 21 days, and 5 and 8 weeks. After treatment, the teeth were removed and processed for routine histologic evaluation. Teeth treated with the two Ca(OH)2 materials showed resolution of the inflammatory response and hard tissue formation at the exposure site as early as 10 days postoperatively, with consistent healing at 21 days and longer. Teflon had a similar soft tissue healing pattern but at a slower rate. Hard tissue formation at the exposure site in the teeth treated with Teflon was infrequent at the early time periods and present in only 20% of the teeth treated for 5 and 8 weeks. By evaluating the soft and hard tissue responses of the Ca(OH)2-capped and Teflon-capped teeth it may be possible, in future studies, to identify events unique to odontoblast differentiation during pulpal healing.