Back to Search Start Over

Evaluation of the expression of nerve fiber markers in healthy and inflamed dental pulp.

Authors :
DE ARRUDA, José Alcides Almeida
GOMES, Heloisa de Sousa
SAMPAIO, Felipe Cavalcanti
BRUNO, Kely Firmino
ESTRELA, Carlos
MENDONÇA, Elismauro Francisco
ARANTES, Diego Antonio Costa
Source :
Brazilian Oral Research; 2023, Vol. 37, p1-9, 9p
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

The diagnosis of irreversible pulpitis (IP) depends on clinical data, especially the chief complaint of the patient, visual inspection, response to the application of stimuli, and radiographic examination. The characterization of nerve fibers (NF) in IP may contribute to better interpret painful symptoms, but has been barely explored. This study sought to characterize the density and integrity of NF in 16 samples of IP and in five healthy pulps (HP) using S-100 and PGP 9.5 markers. Immunohistochemistry was performed to determine the density/mm² of S-100<superscript>+</superscript> and PGP 9.5+ in NF. The amount of degenerated NF was obtained by subtracting the total NF density from the amount of intact NF. Associations between NF density and integrity and symptomatology were calculated. All samples were positive for S-100 and PGP 9.5. Compared to HP samples (38.20/mm²), IP samples had a lower density of intact NF (6.24/mm²). A significantly higher density of degenerated NF was found in IP samples with spontaneous pain (39.59/mm²) compared to those with provoked pain (23.96/mm²) (p = 0.02). No association was observed between intensity of the inflammatory infiltrate and NF density and integrity (p > 0.05). The findings of this study suggest that pulpitis may involve different stages of degeneration and may be more advanced in cases with spontaneous pain. The symptoms reported by affected individuals do not appear to depend on the intensity of the inflammatory infiltrate, but rather on the integrity of NF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
18068324
Volume :
37
Database :
Supplemental Index
Journal :
Brazilian Oral Research
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
175689028
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-3107bor-2023.vol37.0020