Dental Pulp Response to RetroMTA after Partial Pulpotomy in Permanent Human Teeth.

INTRODUCTION: A lack of information exists regarding the efficacy of RetroMTA (BioMTA, Seoul, Korea) directly applied on the pulp in vital pulp therapy. This study was designed to examine the clinical efficacy of RetroMTA compared with ProRoot mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) (Dentsply Tulsa Dental, Tulsa, OK) for partial pulpotomy. METHODS: Partial pulpotomy was performed in 22 healthy human maxillary and mandibular third molars planned for extraction. The teeth were randomly divided into 2 groups (n = 11) and underwent partial pulpotomy with RetroMTA and ProRoot MTA as the control. The teeth were then restored with glass ionomer cement. Clinical and electric pulp tests were performed after 1 and 8 weeks. The teeth were radiographed and extracted at 8 weeks. Histologic sections were prepared and analyzed for pulp inflammation and dentinal bridge formation. Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: Clinical examination after 1 and 8 weeks showed no sensitivity to heat, cold, or palpation in the ProRoot MTA and RetroMTA groups. Periapical radiographs taken before the extraction of teeth showed no evidence of periapical pathology. Electric pulp testing revealed no sensitivity. Data comparisons using the Mann-Whitney U test showed no significant difference between the materials with regard to the pulp inflammation type, intensity and extension (P = .3), or bridge continuity (P = .12). However, these data revealed a significant difference between the 2 materials in pulp morphology (P < .05) and bridge thickness (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first work to evaluate a RetroMTA histologic outcome in partial pulpotomy in human permanent teeth. It shows pulp disorganization, an absence of inflammation, and discontinuous mineralization, which may represent a potential drawback with RetroMTA in this indication.

Human Pulp Responses to Partial Pulpotomy Treatment with TheraCal as Compared with Biodentine and ProRoot MTA: A Clinical Trial.

INTRODUCTION: Questions exist regarding the efficacy of resin-containing materials such as TheraCal directly applied on the pulp. This study sought to investigate the clinical efficacy of TheraCal as compared with Biodentine and ProRoot mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) for partial pulpotomy. METHODS: In this clinical trial, partial pulpotomy was performed for 27 sound human maxillary and mandibular third molars scheduled for extraction. The teeth were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 9) and underwent partial pulpotomy with TheraCal, Biodentine, and ProRoot MTA. The teeth were then restored with glass ionomer cement. Clinical and electric pulp tests were performed after 1 and 8 weeks. The teeth were radiographed and extracted at 8 weeks. Histologic sections were prepared and analyzed for pulp inflammation and dentinal bridge formation. Data were analyzed by using one-way analysis of variance. RESULTS: Clinical examination showed no sensitivity to heat, cold, or palpation in ProRoot MTA and Biodentine groups. Two patients in TheraCal group (20%) reported significant pain at 1 week. Periapical radiographs showed no periapical pathology, and electric pulp test revealed a normal pulp response with no hypersensitivity. Inflammation was absent with all materials at 8 weeks. Normal pulp organization was seen in 33.33% of the teeth in ProRoot MTA, 11.11% in TheraCal, and 66.67% in Biodentine group (P = .06). Biodentine group showed complete dentinal bridge formation in all teeth, whereas this rate was 11% and 56% in TheraCal and ProRoot MTA groups, respectively (P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, Biodentine and MTA performed better than TheraCal when used as partial pulpotomy agent and presented the best clinical outcomes.