Retrospective Study of the Survival Rates of Indirect Pulp Therapy Versus Different Pulpotomy Medicaments
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Published on: January 12, 2017
Patrice Barsamian Wunsch1, Marissa M Kuhnen2, Al M Best3
1Department of Pediatric Dentistry, in the School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va., USA. pbwunsch@vcu.edu.
Purpose:
The purposes of this retrospective chart review were to determine: (1) how primary molars in need of vital pulp therapy (VPT) have been treated over a period of four years at a university-based pediatric dental practice (UBP); and which treatments-indirect pulp therapy (IPT), formocresol pulpotomy (FCP), and ferric sulfate pulpotomy (FSP)-have been successful.
Methods:
Electronic patient records (axiUm) that contained the procedure codes D3120 (pulp cap-indirect) or D3220 (therapeutic pulpotomy) were totaled by year. Visit records were queried again to identify treatment failures (i.e., extractions [D7140] or pulpectomy [D3221/D3240]). A total of 2,001 primary molar teeth were included in the study. Success was compared using a Kaplan-Meier analysis.
Results:
At the three-year follow-up, IPT had a 96.2 percent survival rate, FCP had a 65.8 percent survival rate, and FSP had a 62.9 percent survival rate (P<.0001).
Conclusions:
Over a four-year period of time, IPT became the more commonly used vital pulp therapy treatment at a university-based pediatric dental practice and had a significantly better survival rate than FCP or FSP.
