Blood flow and oxygen consumption in steroid-treated dental pulps.

This study examined pulpal blood flow and oxygen consumption by the dental pulps of dogs. Blood flow was measured by the radioactive microsphere method and oxygen uptake was determined by the indirect Warburg approach. These variables were assessed 2 days after the canine teeth had been exposed and treated with either a cotton pellet impregnated with 1 per cent prednisolone or normal saline. The analysis indicated that the pulpal blood flow as well as the oxygen consumption did not differ between the steriod-treated tooth and the corresponding saline-treated tooth in the same jaw.