Abstract
Introduction Pulse oximetry is a noninvasive method used in clinical medicine to record blood oxygen saturation levels during the administration of intravenous anesthetic agents, and it has recently been used to assess dental pulp vitality with the same objective. Objective Recording the approximate timing of revascularization of maxillary osteotomies and its impact on the healing process through measuring the dental blood flow oxygen saturation level using pulse oximetry. Patients and methods This research was carried out on eight patients collected from the outpatient clinic of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department. All patients were complaining of dentofacial deformities; the maxilla was included in their surgical correction either using Le Fort I osteotomy or anterior maxillary osteotomy. In all patients, the pulpal blood flow of maxillary centrals and canines was evaluated using NellcorOximax sensor (pulse oximeter) and were compared with the reading of the index finger. The collected data were recorded and statistically analyzed. Results The mean values of the oxygen saturation levels started to be increased gradually from the third week till reaching the normal values at the sixth week without significant differences between dental pulps and the index fingers. Conclusion Pulse oximeter is a valuable, simple, noninvasive, and inexpensive tool that could be used clinically to accurately measure the oxygen saturation level of the dental pulp, and thus provides a great help in clinical evaluation of the revascularization process across the osteotomized bony segments. Accordingly, we recommend its routine use in similar situations.
Published Version
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