Comparative Evaluation of Clinical and Radiographic Outcomes of Indirect Pulp Treatment with Silver Diamine Fluoride Versus Calcium Hydroxide in Primary Teeth: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Indirect pulp treatment (IPT) has been a minimally invasive procedure for deep dentinal caries with considerable success. IPT is a procedure which involves excavation of infected dentin and keeping affected dentin intact, followed by application of IPT agent and restoration. The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare clinical and radiographic outcomes of IPT with silver diamine fluoride (SDF) and calcium hydroxide in primary teeth. Materials and Methods: The present study is a prospective, parallel, randomized controlled trial. The study was conducted with a sample size of 50 primary molars in 4 to 7 year old children. In Group A, 25 teeth each were considered for SDF whereas, 25 teeth for calcium hydroxide IPT (Group B). Clinical and radiographic outcomes were evaluated at baseline, three and six months and were compared for both the groups. Data obtained was analyzed using Fisher’s exact test. Level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: On statistical analysis of clinical and radiographic outcomes between both the groups IPT using SDF showed 96% success rate at six month follow up whereas IPT using calcium hydroxide showed 88% success. However, there was no statistically significant difference found between the groups. Conclusions: SDF can be used as an effective alternative of calcium hydroxide for IPT in primary molars. Keywords: Indirect pulp treatment, Calcium hydroxide, Silver diamine fluoride, Primary teeth.