128 - Twenty-Four Month Follow-Up of Pulpal Medicaments in Primary Molars

Purpose: This retrospective study compared (1) efficacy of ferric sulfate (FS), formocresol (FC), and mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) for vital pulpotomy in primary molars and (2) success of lesion sterilization and tissue repair (LSTR) for non-vital treatment to gold standards for pulpotomy, FC and MTA.

Methods: Chart review of pulpotomies with 6- to 24-month follow-up was conducted at UTHealth School of Dentistry. Sign/symptom resolution and clinic/radiographic failure were collected at initial, 6-, 12-, 18-, and 24-month appointments and analyzed using chi-square and Fisher exact tests (P <.05 considered significant). 

Results: Evaluation of 680 primary molars included 188 FS-, 434 FC-, 34 MTA-, and 24 LSTR-treated teeth. FS showed worsened radiographic symptoms and more failures than FC and MTA at 12- and 24-month recalls (P <.03). At 6-months, MTA exhibited increased radiographic failure compared to FC and FS and greater failures than FC and LSTR (P <.04). LSTR performed better radiographically at 6-months (P=.01) and showed no difference in clinical symptom resolution or success compared to FC and MTA at 6-, 12-, and 18-months (P>.05).

Conclusion: Study confirms FC and MTA are gold standard for vital pulpotomy, demonstrating symptom resolution and clinical/radiographic success. LSTR, similar in technique to pulpotomy, has comparable success and symptom resolution to FC and MTA.