Clinical evaluation of glutaraldehyde with calcium hydroxide and glutaraldehyde with zinc oxide eugenol in pulpotomy of primary molars

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to clinically evaluate the effectiveness of 2% buffered glutaraldehyde in pulpotomies of human primary molars and to compare the success rate of glutaraldehyde with calcium hydroxide and glutaraldehyde with zinc oxide eugenol as dressing material on the radicular pulp. Pulpotomies were completed on 61 primary molars in 19 children. The teeth were divided into two groups by random allocation. One group had a dressing of zinc oxide-eugenol base (IRM) incorporated with one drop of 2% buffered glutaraldehyde while the other group had a dressing of calcium hydroxide base incorporated with one drop of 2% buffered glutaraldehyde after the initial placement of 2% buffered glutaraldehyde on cotton pellet for 3 min. All teeth had light-curing compomer (Dyract) placed over the dressing material followed by a stainless steel crown restoration within 1 or 2 weeks after the pulpotomy. Blind clinical and radiographic evaluations of 57 teeth available after 12 months showed a success rate of 92.9% and 73.6% respectively. The clinical and radiographic success rates for glutaraldehyde/zinc oxide eugenol pulpotomies were 96.5% and 75.8% respectively while those for glutaraldehyde-calcium hydroxide were 89.2% and 71.4%. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups either clinically or radiographically. The overall clinical success rate suggested that 2% buffered glutaraldehyde was an effective agent in the pulpotomy of human primary molars.