Success rates of mineral trioxide aggregate, ferric sulfate, and sodium hypochlorite pulpotomies: A prospective 24-month study

Abstract

Several medicaments have been used as alternatives to formocresol (FC) for pulpotomy in primary molars with deep carious lesions. However, no prospective study has observed and compared the outcomes of different medicaments. The aim of this prospective study was to compare 12- and 24-month success rates among sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), ferric sulfate (FS), and mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) pulpotomies performed in primary molars. A total of 108 primary molars in 27 children (18 boys and nine girls) were selected. All subjects exhibited one primary molar indicated for indirect pulp therapy (IPT; control group) and three carious primary molars indicated for pulpotomy with 5% NaOCl, 15.5% FS, and MTA. Clinical and radiographic assessments for determining success rates were performed using established criteria before and at 12 and 24 months after treatment. All data were analyzed using the chi-square test. Clinical treatment success was observed for all teeth during the first 12 months. At 24 months, the clinical and radiographic success rates were both 100% in the control and MTA groups, both 92.6% in the NaOCl group, and 92.6% and 88.9%, respectively, in the FS group. There were no significant differences in the clinical (p=0.328) and radiographic (p=0.164) success rates among the four groups. NaOCl is easily available and less expensive than MTA, and our results suggest that the outcomes of NaOCl pulpotomy and MTA pulpotomy are similar. Therefore, NaOCl may be a practical alternative to FC for pulpotomy in primary molars.