Clinical and Histological Study on Direct Pulp Capping With CO₂ Laser Irradiation in Human Teeth.

Area of Science:

• Dental materials science
• Laser dentistry
• Biomaterials

Background:

• Direct pulp capping is a dental procedure to preserve pulp vitality.
• Exposed human pulp requires effective wound healing strategies.
• Traditional materials like Dycal have been used, but novel approaches are explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To histologically evaluate wound healing in exposed human pulp after direct pulp capping.
• To compare super-pulsed carbon dioxide (CO2) laser preirradiation with Dycal (calcium hydroxide cement).
• To assess parameters including pulp tissue disorganization, inflammation, reparative dentin formation, and bacterial penetration.

Main Methods:

• A single-blind clinical trial involving 28 third molars from 17 volunteers.
• Teeth were randomly assigned to CO2 laser preirradiation (n=14) or Dycal (n=14) groups.
• Histological evaluation was performed at 6 and 12 months post-treatment.

Main Results:

• No significant differences were found between the CO2 laser and Dycal groups for all evaluated histological parameters (p>0.05).
• CO2 laser preirradiation effectively controlled bleeding and exudate from the exposed pulp.
• A trend towards delayed reparative dentin formation was observed in the CO2 laser group, though 4 of 7 teeth showed a complete dentin bridge at 12 months.

Conclusions:

• Super-pulsed CO2 laser preirradiation is a viable alternative to Dycal for direct pulp capping, with comparable histological outcomes.
• The CO2 laser offers hemostatic benefits during the procedure.
• Further research may optimize CO2 laser parameters to enhance reparative dentin formation.