Pulp therapy in primary teeth Flashcards
Management of the grossly
carious primary molar - options
Options
– Retain or
– Extract
If the grossly carious primary molars are left untreated or treated inadequately
– Pain
– Infection
– Damage to permanent successor
– Decreased masticatory function
Treatment planning for the management of the grossly carious primary molar- history/ symptoms…
– History of spontaneous severe pain
– Reported pain on biting
– Analgesics required
– History of swelling
Examination/clinical findings- management of the grossly carious primary molar
– Clinical extent and site of caries
* marginal ridge breakdown
– Intra-oral swelling or sinus
– Extra-oral or facial swelling
– Number of carious teeth
* previous caries experience
What special investigations do you carry out for grossly carious primary molar
– TTP
– Mobility
– Radiographs
NB Sensibility testing unreliable in primary teeth
What do you look for on the radiograph
- extent of caries
- proximity of large restorations to pulp horn
- Periradicular or intraradicular pathology
- degree of pathological or physiological root
resorption - presence of a successor
additional factors to consider - grossly carious primary molar
– Co-operation
– Past Medical History
– Parental wishes
What are the indications for tooth retention
Dental factors
– Minimal number of extensively carious
primary molars likely to require pulp therapy
(<3)
– No permanent successor
– Where prevention of mesial migration of 1st
permanent molars is desirable
– Early orthodontic intervention required e.g.
cleft lip and palate
Indications for tooth retention social factors
– Good patient compliance
– Regular attender and positive parental attitude
Indications for tooth retention medical factors
– Patients at risk from an extraction (e.g. bleeding disorders,
hereditary angio-oedema)
– Patients at risk if a general anaesthetic is required for tooth
removal (e.g. some cardiac conditions, cystic fibrosis, muscular
dystrophies)
Indications for extraction
Dental factors
– Tooth unrestorable after pulp therapy
– Extensive internal root resorption
– Large number of carious teeth with likely
pulpal involvement (>3)
– Tooth close to exfoliation (>2/3 root
resorption)
– Contralateral tooth already lost (in the case of
a 1st primary molar, and if indicated
orthodontically)
– Extensive pathology or acute facial swelling
necessitating emergency admission
Indications for extraction medical factors
Patients at risk from residual infection (e.g.
immunocompromised, susceptibility to infective
endocarditis)
Indications for extraction social factors
An irregular attender, with poor compliance and
unfavourable parental attitudes
Primary pulp therapy procedures for the vital pulp
– Hall crown
– Indirect pulp treatment
– Direct Pulp capping – poor success rate, high incidence of
internal resorption.
– Vital pulpotomy
– Desensitising pulpotomy
Primary pulp therapy procedures for the non vital pulp
– Pulpectomy
– Non-vital pulpotomy – NOT INDICATED
Hall crown (vital pulp)- hall technique
Cement PMC over carious primary molars
* No LA or tooth preparation
Requirements for hall technique
- Requires careful case selection
- Must be accompanied with an effective
preventive regime
Indications for the hall technique
- No clinical or radiographic signs of pulp
involvement - Sufficient remaining sound tooth tissue to
retain crown - Good coop (avoid airway risk)
- Cl 1/ Cl 2 cavities if unable to accept
restorations
What do you need before hall technique
- Full clinical exam, bitewings and parental
consent
contra indications of hall technique
- Not if IE risk
- Unusual morphology (e.g. accessory cusp)
- Poor cooperation
Aims of indirect pulp treatment
- To arrest the carious process and provide conditions
conducive to the formation of reactionary dentine - To promote pulpal healing and preserve/maintain
vitality of the pulp tissue
Indications for indirect pulp treatment
- Tooth with deep carious lesion
- No signs/symptoms indicative of pulpal pathosis
- <2/3 Marginal ridge breakdown
Indirect pulp treatment technique
- Local anaesthetic
- Rubber dam
- Removal of all caries at the EDJ
- Careful removal soft deep carious dentine using hand
excavators or slowly rotating large round bur (+/- caries
detector dye) - Take care to AVOID PULPAL EXPOSURE
- Reinforced GI cement or calcium hydroxide as lining
- Definitive restoration to achieve optimal coronal seal
(adhesive restoration or preformed crown)
Direct pulp cap why is it not routinely indicated?
- Poor success rate
- High incidence of internal resorption
Aims of direct pulp cap
To promote dentine bridge & maintain vitality
Indications of direct pulp cap
ONLY if asymtomatic tooth, small exposure & in older child
(tooth due to shed in 1-2 years maximum) or if an
iatrogenic exposure or trauma, <2/3 marginal ridge loss
Technique of direct pulp capping
- Local anaesthetic
- Rubber dam
- Apply cotton wool pledget soaked in saline to arrest
haemorrhage. - Apply hard setting Calcium hydroxide cement (mineral
trioxide aggregate an alternative) - Restore, optimal coronal seal
Remember what about direct pulp capping?
NOT ROUTINELY INDICATED