Clinical guidelines for vital pulp therapy

Vital pulp therapy is a minimally invasive procedure designed to preserve the dental pulp when it is affected by dental caries, trauma, restorative procedures or dental anomalies(1-4). The treatment can be completed in both asymptomatic and symptomatic teeth, including those diagnosed with reversible or irreversible pulpitis(4-8). Teeth with necrotic pulps should be treated by root canal treatment, otherwise they may have to be extracted. The type of intervention to be used can vary from a direct pulp cap to a pulpotomy depending on the extent of affected tissue and level of inflammatory response; thus, depending on the amount of pulp tissue to be preserved(9-11). Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) is recommended for use as a pulp capping or pulpotomy agent or alternatively, another pure calcium silicate cement (CSC) may be used, not combined with any resin or resin-modified material(12-15).