Vital pulp therapy

Conservative vital pulp therapy in children calls for the use of specific procedures whose objectives differ from the issues encountered in adults:

It is important for the temporary tooth to remain in the dental arch to preserve the mesiodistal space, the vertical dimension guiding the physiological positionally normal eruption of succedaneous teeth and to prevent the appearance of parafunctions.

The preservation of pulp vitality in the deciduous dentition is important as a means of avoiding all risks of periapical diseases that could compromise the fate of the permanent tooth.

Preserving pulp vitality in an immature permanent tooth is important for the apexogenesis of the tooth. When the tooth is mature, the therapeutic aims will also be directed towards preserving pulp vitality, especially as the patient is young.

For decades calcium hydroxide has been the only material available in cases of carious, traumatic or therapeutic pulp exposure in order to obtain pulp healing and dentin repair.