Zinc oxide-eugenol pulpotomy in primary teeth: A 24-month follow-up

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.

Primary molars; Pulpotomy; Zinc oxide-eugenol biomedical and dental materials; sodium chloride; zinc oxide eugenol; child; deciduous tooth; dental caries; endodontics; female; follow up; hemostatic technique; human; lavage; longitudinal study; male; molar tooth; pathology; preschool child; procedures; prospective study; tooth pulp; tooth pulp disease; treatment outcome; Child; Child, Preschool; Dental Caries; Dental Pulp; Dental Pulp Exposure; Dentin, Secondary; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Hemostatic Techniques; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Molar; Prospective Studies; Pulp Capping and Pulpectomy Agents; Pulpotomy; Sodium Chloride; Therapeutic Irrigation; Tooth, Deciduous; Treatment Outcome; Zinc Oxide-Eugenol Cement

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