Experiments with pulp capping

The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to determine whether a microbicidal cavity cleanser (Tubilicid) used in cavities with pulp lesions had any influence on healing under a calcium hydroxide capping, (2) to determine whether a cavity cleanser can have a positive influence on the healing of exposed pulps which have been infected for 2 days, and (3) to test whether fluoride might have an influence on the formation of a tissue barrier. In all, thirty teeth (fifteen contralateral tooth pairs) in young patients and twenty-four teeth in two dogs were treated. Buccal cavities were prepared, and a small lesion was made in the pulp. In the human experiments the treatment was carried out under nonsterile conditions. The cavity was rinsed with Tubilicid. The lesion in one tooth, decided by lot, was capped with equal parts of Ca(OH)₂ and CaFPO₃ while the other tooth was treated with only Ca(OH)₂. The follow-up period was 7 to 10 weeks. In the dog experiments all the pulp lesions were infected for 2 days with Streptococcus sanguis. In the first dog (eight contralateral tooth pairs) one cavity in each tooth pair was cleansed with Tubilicid, and the other one with saline solution. All pulp exposures were capped with Ca(OH)₂. The observation period was 10 weeks. In the second dog, in which eight pulp lesions had been infected for only 2 days, histologic examination revealed a tissue reaction limited to the area close to the lesion and characterized by small bleedings and a moderate cellular infiltration. The findings of the capped teeth in both the human and the animal experiments disclosed that all but one of the cappings were classified as favorable. Barriers in various stages of mineralization could be observed, and no differences were found within the tooth pairs. Thus, it could be concluded that neither the microbicidal cleanser not the fluride appeared to have any influence on the healing process if the capping material was at least of equal parts consisting of calcium hydroxide.