Calcium Hydroxide-based Therapeutic Pads as the Main Material in the Treatment of Deep Caries

The article is devoted to increasing the efficiency of treatment of deep caries, which is an urgent problem of modern dentistry. The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of the treatment of deep caries using the KERR "Life" calcium hydroxide treatment liner, which is a radiopaque, durable material based on calcium hydroxide and salicylate ester, recommended for direct or indirect pulp capping and as a cementitious base for all restorative filling materials. The study involved 26 patients. The studies carried out have confirmed the efficiency of the treatment of deep caries with the Life pad and confirmed the possibility of its widespread use in practice.

Assessment of Confidence Level Among Interns of A Dental College in Performing Various Dental Procedures

Introduction: Effectiveness of the learning process can be measured by evaluation of interns’ confidence level in each of the competencies which will be helpful in their future dental practice. This study was conducted to assess self-confidence level of dental interns of a dental college in performing various dental procedures. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 65 dental interns selected by census method. Self-administered questionnaire was provided to the study participants for assessment of their confidence level in different dental procedures. Data were analyzed in the Statistical Package of Social Sciences version 20. Mean and standard deviation for quantitative data and frequency/percentage for qualitative data were calculated. Results: Majority of dental interns had good confidence in history taking (53, 83.1%), radiography (53, 81.5%), diagnosis (39, 60%), treatment planning (34, 52.3%), scaling (42, 64.6%), preventive resin restorations (39, 60%), anterior composite restorations (35, 53.8%), posterior composite restorations (55, 84.6%), anterior endodontics (29, 44.6%), premolar endodontics (23, 35.4%), treating pediatric patients (43, 66.2%), indirect pulp capping (41, 63.1%), acrylic partial denture design and construction (33, 50.8%) and simple extractions (33, 50.8%). They had poor/least confidence in metal partial dentures design and construction (58, 89.2), bridge preparation (44, 67.7%), molar endodontics (31, 47.7%), bleaching (57, 87.7%), veneering (61, 93.8%) and surgical extractions (38, 58.5%). Conclusions: The findings of the study concluded that the dental interns were confident in simple dental procedures and had least confidence in complex dental treatments. They need more exposure to the complex procedures during internship to enhance their confidence level.

Comparison of two vital pulp therapies in β-Thalassemic children

Aim: Beta-thalassemia (β-thalassemia) major is one of the most common inherited genetic blood disorders and is characterized by many systemic manifestations and skeletal problems. Children with β-thalassemia have a high caries index and must receive proper dental treatment to achieve better oral health. The aim of study is to compare two types of vital pulp therapies in children with β-thalassemia major. Methods: Sixty-five children with β-thalassemia major having carious primary molars were selected from Ain Shams University and the Hereditary Blood Disorders Clinic at the National Research Centre to be treated at Pediatric Dentistry, Department, Faculty of Dentisrtry, Ain Shams University . Patients received one of both types of vital pulp therapies: mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) pulpotomy and indirect pulp capping. The children were divided into two groups as follow: Group I (n=30) received MTA pulpotomy and Group II (n=35) received indirect pulp capping using high viscosity glass ionomer cement. Clinical and radiographic follow-ups were done at the baseline, six months, and after one year. Patient preferences for types of vital pulp therapies were evaluated at the end of treatment. Comparison of the groups with qualitative data was done using Chi-square test. Comparison of the groups with quantitative data and a parametric distribution was done using an independent t-test at significance level 0.05. Results: The findings revealed success rates of 90% in Group I and 100% in Group II. There was 10% clinical and radiographic failure in Group I and 0% in Group II but the difference between the two groups when compared to each other was statistically not significant (p= 0.055). Conclusions: Both types of vital pulp therapies showed high success rates in children with β-thalassemia major and thus can be used safely in these patients. However, minimally invasive types of dental treatment may be preferred in children with β-thalassemia major as indirect pulp capping for being less invasive and requires less effort, fatigue and time.

Comparative analysis of the success rate of direct and indirect pulp capping procedures - A retrospective analysis

Treatment options of pulp exposure involve either extraction or root canal therapy, as latter involves multiple appointments and considerable expense. An alternate procedure is pulp capping, which is divided into two types- direct, indirect pulp capping. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the success rate of direct and indirect pulp capping procedures based on postoperative pain and patient's visit after pulp capping procedure. As it was a retrospective analysis, data collected from hospital, Chennai, and it consisted of a total of 439 cases evaluated based on the type of pulp capping done. Inclusion criteria consisted of Patients aged 18 – 50 years who received direct, indirect pulp capping procedures. Patients who received deep caries management. Patients who have obvious carious lesions noted clinically, radio graphically and received either complete/ partial caries removal followed by placement of cavity liner. The collected data was imported to excel sheet, analyzed using SPSS software. In this study of 261 patients (99 are females, 162 are males with a mean age of 18-40) were included. It was observed that there was not a significant difference among the groups. Indirect pulp capping has a higher success rate over Direct pulp capping with a p-value greater than 0.05. Within the limitations of this study, it can be concluded that the indirect pulp capping has a higher success rate over the direct pulp capping procedures, although it's not statistically significant.