Pulp Therapy for Primary and Immature Permanent Teeth in Children: Review of Literature

Maintaining the integrity of the dental arch in the primary and mixed dentition is important for establishing occlusion and function in the permanent dentition. The primary reasons for premature loss of teeth in children are either dental caries or trauma. Proximity of caries or trauma to pulp tissue may lead to pulpitis or even pulp necrosis.. This review article presents the pulp therapy techniques commonly used in pediatric dentistry, their indications and the common therapeutic agents.
Method &Material: A search through PubMed, Google, Scopus and Medline during 1984-2013, a total of 42 original research papers with key words such as pulp therapy, primary teeth, and immature permanent teeth and pediatric was performed. Furthermore, references books were used.
Results & It is a treatment objective to maintain the vitality of the pulp of a tooth affected by caries, traumatic injury, or other causes. Whenever possible, dental treatment should attempt to maintain pulp vitality, particularly in immature permanent teeth. Pulp vitality leads to development of a favorable crown-root ratio, apical closure and formation of secondary dentin.