ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the clinical and radiographic effectiveness of zinc oxide-eugenol (ZOE) as the only pulp capping agent in pulpotomies carried out on decayed primary molars after a follow-up period of 24 months. STUDY DESIGN: In total, 60 pulpotomies were performed on 38 patients aged 3 to 11 years. Pulpotomy treatment consisted of the removal of the coronal pup tissue, subsequent hemostasis, irrigation with saline solution, drying and pressure with sterile cotton pellets, and placement of a thick regular ZOE base with a minimal amount of eugenol directly over the vital radicular pulp. Additionally, a histopathologic study was carried out on some of the molars treated. RESULTS: After a 24-month follow-up, we considered 51 procedures to be successful and 9 failures using clinical and radiographic criteria; most of the failures occurred between the 12th and 18th month. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that the proposed pulpotomy treatment with ZOE as the only capping agent may be considered as an alternative technique in the pulp treatment of primary molars.
