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Capping of the dental pulp mechanically exposed to the oral microflora – a 5 week observation of wound healing in the monkey
Author(s) -
Cox Charles F.,
Bergenholtz Gunnar,
Fitzgerald Mark,
Heys Donald R.,
Heys Ronald J.,
Avery James K.,
Baker John A.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
journal of oral pathology and medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.887
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1600-0714
pISSN - 0904-2512
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0714.1982.tb00173.x
Subject(s) - pulp (tooth) , wound healing , dentistry , medicine , dentin , pulpitis , inflammation , pulp capping , soft tissue , amalgam (chemistry) , pulp necrosis , hard tissue , oral cavity , surgery , chemistry , electrode
The healing capacity of mechanically exposed and bacterially contaminated dental pulps was assessed in monkeys after capping with 2 commercial Ca(OH) 2 containing compounds. One hundred eighty teeth in 7 monkeys were employed, 45 as untreated controls and 135 as treated exposures. Class V buccal cavity preparations resulting in pulpal exposure were prepared, left open to the oral cavity for 0, 1, 24 h or 7 days and employed as controls, or debrided, capped, restored with amalgam and left undisturbed for 5 weeks as treated exposures. Zero and 1 h untreated exposures presented damage from the mechanical trauma only, whereas 24 h and 7 day pulp wounds exhibited pronounced infiltrations of polymorphonuclear and mononuclear leukocytes. In addition, the 7 day exposures demonstrated several teeth with partial and total necrosis. Treated 0, 1 and 24 h exposures demonstrated wound healing, minimal pulp tissue inflammation, reorganization of soft tissue and formation of new hard tissue at the exposure site in 86 of 99 teeth. Treated 7 day exposures healed less frequently, showing signs of dentin bridging in 15 of 27 teeth. This study indicated that mechanically exposed and orally contaminated dental pulps in monkeys have a high capacity to resolve inflammation and initiate healing with new dentin formation at the exposure site when treated as described.