Abstract

Aim

The current study aimed to compare the clinical and radiographic success of potassium nitrate in polycarboxylate cement (KNO₃/PCA) compared to mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) in direct pulp capping (DPC) of carious, immature permanent molars over an 18-month follow-up.

Materials and methods

A two-armed parallel randomised trial included one hundred children with 104 M have been included and assigned equally. The success rate was evaluated clinically and radiographically. Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used to compare the clinical and radiographic success rates. The percentage change in radiographic parameters was tested using an independent sample t-test. The effect of time on the mean values of radiographic parameters was tested using the general linear model (GLM). A significant level was set at 5%.

Results

The overall success rates after 18 months of follow-up for KNO₃/PCA and MTA were 90.4% and 92.3%, respectively (p > 0.05). Similarly, root maturation indicators showed no significant difference between the two groups over the follow-up (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

With comparable clinical and radiographic results to MTA, KNO₃/PCA is an effective treatment option in the DPC of carious, immature permanent teeth.

ABSTRACT

      Aim: to assess the clinical and radiographic success rates of direct pulp capping versus pulpotomy using mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) in the treatment of primary molars.

     Patients and methods: The current study was planned as a split-mouth randomized clinical trial. The trial included 50 healthy, cooperative children (32 boys [64%] and 18 girls [36%]) aged 4–7 years, with two deep carious lower second primary molars requiring vital pulp therapy. One hundred lower second primary molars were randomly classified into two groups according to the technique used: Group (1): direct pulp capping using MTA and Group 2: pulpotomy using MTA. Then each case was followed clinically and radiologically every 3, 6, and 12 months to detect success and failure rates. The clinical and radiographic outcome criteria were treated as binary data (present or absent) and tested using Mcnemar’s chi-square test. The alpha level of significance was set to 0.05 at 95% CI.

    Results: Over the follow-up period, no significant statistical difference was found between the two groups (p-value > 0.05). The overall success rates were 100% for both techniques clinically and radiographically after a 12-month follow-up period.

   Conclusion: In cooperative patients, in well-chosen cases, both direct pulp capping and pulpotomy may be dependable options for treating deeply decayed primary molars.