Comparative evaluation of the efficacy of chitosan and formocresol as medicaments for pulpotomy in primary molars: A clinical pilot study

Aim: To compare the clinical and radiographic effectiveness of chitosan and formocresol as pulpotomy medicaments in primary molars. Methods: Children of age 4-8 years old, who were physically and mentally healthy without any known medical history of systemic conditions contraindicating pulp therapy with at least one deep carious primary molars indicated for pulpotomy, were recruited. Pulpotomies were performed on 64 teeth divided into 2 groups, Group A (chitosan) and Group B (formocresol), followed by stainless steel crowns. Evaluation of clinical and radiological success was done at 1, 3 and 6 months follow up. Chi Square Test was used to compare the clinical and radiological parameters between study groups at different time intervals (p < 0.05) Results: Clinical success rate in both groups was 96.6% and radiographic success rate in chitosan was 96.6%, but formocresol was 89.6%. Conclusions: Chitosan was found to be an effective medicament for pulpotomy in primary molars. While chitosan also showed improved success rate compared to formocresol, it was not statistically significant.