Laser Pulpotomy–An Effective Alternative to Conventional Techniques: A 12 Months Clinicoradiographic Study

BACKGROUND Vital pulpotomy is a single-stage procedure of surgical amputation of the coronal portion of exposed vital pulp, usually as a means of preserving the vitality and function of the remaining radicular portion. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to compare the clinical and radiographic success rates for ferric sulfate (FS), electrosurgery (ES) and laser pulpotomy in human primary molars. MATERIALS AND METHODS In a randomized clinical trial, 30 primary molars indicated for pulpotomy in children aged 4 to 10 years were treated using either a FS (10 teeth), ES technique (10 teeth) and laser (10 teeth). Following the pulpotomy, the teeth were evaluated for clinical and radiographic success at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months on the basis of the presence of pain, sinus, mobility, internal and external resorption, periapical radiolucency, calcification in the canal and bone loss. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS The data were assessed with Chi-square test. RESULTS After 12 months of follow-up, both clinical and radiographic success rates were 100% in the laser group but only 80% in both ES and FS groups. There was statistically significant difference between the success rates of three groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION Laser pulpotomy showed better clinical as well as radiographical results than ES and FS pulpotomy. Laser pulpotomy was also found superior in terms of operating time, patient cooperation, ease of use and pain. Although results of the study showed the failure rates for electrosurgical pulpotomy to be equal to those for FS pulpotomy, electrosurgical pulpotomy being a nonpharmacological technique considered more favorable. Further studies using larger sample size and longer evaluation periods are suggested. How to cite this article: Gupta G, Rana V, Srivastava N, Chandna P. Laser Pulpotomy-An Effective Alternative to Conventional Techniques: A 12 Months Clinicoradiographic Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2015;8(1):18-21.