Comparative Evaluation of Mineral Trioxide Aggregate and Bioceramic Putty for Indirect Pulp Capping in Primary...

Indirect pulp capping (IPC) provides an approach to protect functional primary teeth up until their natural exfoliation occurs. The material used for capping must possess three essential characteristics, including biocompatibility, good sealing ability against bacteria, and support for pulp natural healing functions. The aim of this research investigation entails assessing the performance of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) putty and bioceramic putty as IPC materials within deciduous molars.

The research involved 82 children from age 4 to 9 years. Teeth with carious lesions that needed IPC were divided into two different groups based on capping material, where group I contained MTA putty and group II held bioceramic putty. The evaluation of both clinical and radiological success was performed at each time point using Rajashekharan criteria on teeth that underwent IPC. The examination included checking for dentinal bridge formation. Statistical evaluation of all collected data used the McNemar Chi-squared test combined with the Pearson Chi-squared test and the independent t-test.

The intergroup analysis was performed using the Pearson Chi-squared test. No failures occurred in either group based on radiological or clinical examinations at both 3 and 6 months of follow-up. At 9-month follow-up, the success rate was 100% in group I and 95.1% in group II. The difference was statistically nonsignificant. The proportion of patients who demonstrated increased dentinal bridge at the 9-month follow-up reached 97.6% in group I and amounted to 68.3% in group II, showing a statistically meaningful gap between the groups (p-value = 0.002).

MTA putty and bioceramic putty have proven their effectiveness for obtaining positive clinical and radiological results according to this investigation. The collected data demonstrate that bioceramic materials are effective in dentistry and provide essential information for deciding clinical pulp therapy approaches.

Garg P, Sheoran N, Saraf BG, et al. Comparative Evaluation of Mineral Trioxide Aggregate and Bioceramic Putty for Indirect Pulp Capping in Primary Molars: An In Vivo Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2026;19(1):40-46.