Zinc Oxide–Eugenol Pulpotomy in Primary Teeth: A 24-Month Follow-up

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the clinical and radiographic effectiveness of zinc oxide–eugenol (ZOE) as the only pulp capping agent in pulpotomies carried out on decayed primary molars after a follow-up period of 24 months. Study design: In total, 60 pulpotomies were performed on 38 patients aged 3 to 11 years. Pulpotomy treatment consisted of the removal of the coronal pup tissue, subsequent hemostasis, irrigation with saline solution, drying and pressure with sterile cotton pellets, and placement of a thick regular ZOE base with a minimal amount of eugenol directly over the vital radicular pulp. Additionally, a histopathologic study was carried out on some of the molars treated. Results: After a 24-month follow-up, we considered 51 procedures to be successful and 9 failures using clinical and radiographic criteria; most of the failures occurred between the 12th and 18th month. Conclusions: Results suggest that the proposed pulpotomy treatment with ZOE as the only capping agent may be considered as an alternative technique in the pulp treatment of primary molars.