Deep Caries & Pulp Mx of Primary Teeth Flashcards
What are some dental factors to consider during pre-operative assessment?
- General dental condition (e.g few carious teeth needing pulp therapy)
- Restorability of tooth:
- Internal/external resorption
- Exposed root => resto process might damage successor
- Caries through pulpal floor
- Pulp calcification - Lifespan of tooth (e.g close to exfoliation)
- Amount of supporting bone
- Significance of tooth to dental arch (e.g loss of E => space loss)
- Absence of successor => might want to conserve primary tooth
What is the preventive only approach?
- Slow down & arrest caries using preventive measure (e.g topical fluoride)
- Caries initial/minimal or can be made self-cleansing (e.g disking)
- Require px & parental compliance => attend regular visits
What is the biological approach?
- Incomplete caries free, place resto w good seal => arrest remaining caries
- e.g Hall technique, ITR, IPC
How can we come to a diagnosis of pulp status in primary teeth?
- Pain history (SOCRATES)
- Clinical Examination
- discolouration
- redness, swelling, sinus tract
- mobility - Vitality tests
- percussion
- cold test
- EPT not valid, response inconsistent - Radiographs
- pathologic root resorption
- pathology at apical/furcal areas
- bone loss
- pulpal calcification - Bleeding from exposed pulp during procedure
- Pink/red & healthy => little bleeding
- Dark red/purple & necrotic => oozing
What are the types of pulp therapy?
Vital pulp therapy, for
- normal pulp
- reversible pulpitis
Non-vital pulp therapy, for
- irreversible pulpitis
- necrotic pulp
What are the clinical parameters that should be observed for teeth indicated for vital pulp therapy?
- No spontaneous pain
- Pain from thermal testing does not linger
- NTTP, NTTPp, mobility WNL
- No soft tissue lesions (e.g swelling, sinus)
- No PARL/perifurcation on radiograph
What are the indications for Hall Technique?
- Vital tooth
- If unable to do conventional resto for carious primary molars
Describe the Hall Technique
- Place separator at previous visit to make space for crown
- No LA, caries removal or tooth prep
- Cement preformed SSC with GIC – seal in decay
What is the rationale behind a protective base and what are some examples?
- Cover exposed dentinal tubules => Prevent microleakage & post-op sensitivity
- Protective barrier btw resto material/cement & pulp => Preserve tooth vitality, promote pulp healing & tertiary dentine formation
Examples of bases: Ca(OH)2, GIC
What is the indication for indirect pulp cap?
Vital asymptomatic tooth with deep caries adjacent to pulp
Describe the procedure for indirect pulp cap
- Place biocompatible material over thin residual layer of affected dentine – stimulate healing and repair (eg Ca(OH)2, ZOE, RMGIC, MTA)
- Restore tooth with material that seals against microleakage (eg CR)
>90% success rate at 3 years follow up
What are the indications (including pulpal status) for interim therapeutic restoration (ITR)?
- When conventional cavity prep & restorations not feasible (eg uncooperative child/special needs, partially erupted teeth)
- For caries control in child patients with multiple open carious lesions who would benefit from step-wise excavation or awaiting rehabilitation under GA
- Normal pulp/reversible pulpitis
Describe the procedure for ITR
- Caries removal, deepest carious dentine left so as to not expose pulp (different from IPC)
- Total/maximum caries removal at periphery of lesion
- Restore with GIC
- Monitor for s/s, decide if need to re-excavate caries & replace with conventional resto later on
What are the indications for direct pulp cap?
- Pin point mechanical exposure during cavity prep or following a traumatic injury
- NOT for carious pulp exposure
- Vital tooth
(rarely done for primary teeth)
What are clinical parameters to take note of that indicate success of vital pulp treatments (IPC, DPC)?
- Check that tooth remains vital
- No post tx s/s
- No radiographic evidence of pathologic changes
- No harm to succedaneous tooth