Deficiencies of pulpotomy and pulpectomy treatment of primary teeth have promoted considerable laboratory and clinical research. Some of these findings and their implications are reviewed.

Reviewing pulp treatment for primary teeth.

The purpose of this study was to contrast histologically the pulp response to formocresol with the response to electrosurgical pulpotomy in a primate model. Both the primary and permanent incisors and molars were treated. Coronal pulp amputation was accomplished mechanically. The remaining pulp stumps were treated by either formocresol or momentary electrosurgery exposure. Results were evaluated at one hour, one week, and two months postoperatively. Results with the conventional formocresol treatment were consistent with other studies showing favorable pulp response. The electrosurgical approach produced no furcation or periapical involvement and exhibited no evidence of necrosis in the apical two-thirds of the root. Histologically, in this study electrosurgery pulpotomy had as favorable a tissue response as the conventional formocresol treatment for the time studied.

Electrosurgical pulpotomy in primates--a comparison with formocresol pulpotomy.

Two bifunctional reagents, glutaraldehyde and dimethylsuberimidate, were compared to formaldehyde with respect to fixation and modification of protein. Glutaraldehyde proved the superior fixative based on cross-linking and enzyme degradation assays. An immunoprecipitation assay suggests that the reaction products of glutaraldehyde may have altered antigenicity.

A Biochemical Study of Two Bifunctional Reagents as Alternatives to Formocresol

As part of an overall evaluation of possible substitutes for the pulpotomy agent formocresol, this study was initiated to compare the antigenicity of the reaction products of protein with formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, or dimethylsuberimidate (DMS)Rabbits were injected with rabbit serum albumin (RSA) which had been treated with one of the following solutions: phosphate-buffered saline, 2% glutaraldehyde, 4% formaldehyde, or 2% DMS The antisera from the rabbits were analyzed for elicited antibodies by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and in a horseradish peroxidase (HRP) assay using a spot technique on nitrocellulose paperThese assays demonstrated that DMS-treated RSA was the most antigenic of the reaction products tested The least provocative was the glutaraldehyde-treated RSA; the reaction product of formaldehyde was intermediateOur findings suggest that if non-immunogenicity of a pulpotomy agent is a desirable property, then DMS does not meet the criteria of an alternative pulp fixative

James R. Nelson

Papers

Biochemical effects of tissue fixatives on bovine pulp.