Efficacy of Ultrasound Doppler Flowmetry in Assessing Pulp Vitality of Traumatized Teeth: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis

Abstract

Introduction: This retrospective study aimed to evaluate and compare the efficacy of ultrasound Doppler flowmetry (UDF) with that of electric pulp testing (EPT) in assessing pulp vitality in traumatized teeth.

Methods: A total of 246 teeth from 78 patients who visited the authors' hospital with histories of dental trauma between February 2012 and May 2015 were included. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on the diagnostic method used to determine pulp vitality during the follow-up visits. In the control group, EPT alone was used to assess pulp vitality, whereas both UDF and EPT were used in the UDF group. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and the log-rank test were performed after propensity score matching. Survival was defined as the tooth not having to undergo root canal treatment. Additionally, the McNemar test was used to compare the results of UDF with those of EPT in the UDF group.

Results: After propensity score matching, 69 teeth were included in each group. The pulp survival rates at 1 year were 74% and 90% in the control and UDF groups, respectively, a difference that was statistically significant (P < .01). In the UDF group, there was a significant difference between the UDF and EPT results at all follow-up evaluations (P < .001).

Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, UDF appeared to be more sensitive in assessing pulp vitality in traumatized teeth.

Keywords: Dental trauma; propensity score matching; pulp vitality; ultrasound Doppler.