Influence of atmospheric temperature on the occurrence of irreversible pulpitis clinical cases

ABSTRACT

Introduction and Objective: The present study aimed to examine the correlation between atmospheric temperature and the occurrence of irreversible pulpitis. Material and methods: Data was collected from the Department of Dentistry, Moinhos de Vento Hospital, Porto Alegre between July 2011 and December 2012. A total of 52 pulpitis clinical cases were examined in 529 days in this study. Data on the atmospheric temperature in Porto Alegre on each day was collected from the Porto Alegre Meteorology Institute. Results and Conclusion: Correlation analysis of the temperature data and pulpitis cases was conducted using Student's t-test, with a significance level of 5%. Although no correlation was observed between the occurrence of irreversible pulpitis and atmospheric temperature, the incidence rates were higher on days when the average temperature was greater than 25ºC.