A comparative study of pulp vitality following vital pulpotomy using calcium hydroxide-based sealants in beagle dogs

Vital pulpotomy is very useful method for disarming of canine tooth, tooth fracture, periodontitis, and malocclusion in veterinary dentistry. And calcium hydroxide is the commonly used material as liner during vital pulpotomy. This creates a mineralized barrier by stimulating osteoblastic hard tissue repair, arrests the inflammatory response, and soothes dentin. However, the powder or mix type calcium hydroxide materials have many disadvantages because of complicating procedure to use and are hard to be handled when vital pulpotomy is followed under general anesthesia in animals. This study was performed to compare the effect of mix and premixed paste type calcium hydroxide as liner on vital pulpotomy. Six beagle dogs had hemisection on mesial root of mandibular first molar and were performed vital pulpotomy on distal root of first molar. On the distal root of left and right mandibular first molar, mix type (DYCAL ® , Dentsply, USA) and premixed paste type calcium hydroxide (VITAPEX ® , Morita, Japan) were used as liner, respectively. The radiological evaluation performed at immediate, 4, 12 and 20 weeks after vital pulpotomy. In results, all teeth had dentinal bridges formed well, there were no periradicular lucency, lamina dura loss and anomalies of pulp cavity. Following this results, on vital pulpotomy in animals, premixed paste type calcium hydroxide was easy to handle and decrease the anesthesia period by more convenient application procedure. Further study is needed for many clinical cases to inspect side effects and other problems.