Preferred Technique and Material Choice for exposed pulp among dentists practicing in Karachi
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53350/pjmhs2216219Keywords:
Dental Pulp Capping (MeSH); Pulp Capping Agents (MeSH).Abstract
Aim: To assess the treatment preference of dentists working in Karachi for clinically managing pulp exposures and their choice of material for Direct Pulp Capping.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey performed from 1st Nov 2018 to 15th April 2019 by selecting a simple random sample of 600 dentists from the 15 dental colleges. Total of 600 questionnaires was sent to the participants with the request to return it on or before 15th April 2019.
Results: Significantly high number of responders, regardless of their clinical experience, handle pulp exposures with RCT in case of exposure ≤ 1mm (p=0.001), carious exposure (p=0.001) and mechanical exposure(p=0.001). The frequency of practitioners performing total caries excavation with definitive restoration was significantly higher (p=.001). The frequency of using Calcium Hydroxide (CH) for DPC was significantly higher (p=.001) as compared to other materials.
Conclusion: It appears as if current evidence-based philosophy of conservative approach to deal with pulp exposures has not yet been completely adopted by responding clinicians and tendency to treat pulp exposure through RCT prevails. The majority of the dentists still employs CH as a material of choice for DPC.
