Comparative study of the clinical and radiographic effects of pulpotec and mineral trioxide aggregate on the pulp of the primary molars

ObjectiveThe aim was to evaluate clinically and radiographically the effectiveness of pulpotec and mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) on the radicular pulp tissue of the primary molars after pulpotomy procedure and compare the results of the tested materials with that of formocresol (FC).Materials and methodsPulpotomy was performed on 90 lower primary molars in 30 children aged 4–8 years then were randomly divided into three treatment groups of 30 molars for each group. Group I: the pulp was treated with Pulpotec. Group II: the pulp was treated with MTA. Group III: the pulp was treated with FC. All treated molars were covered with stainless steel crowns. Clinical evaluation and standardized periapical radiographs were done after 3, 6, and 9 months.ResultsThe three groups were clinically successful as Pulpotec showed (100%) success rate, MTA showed (100%) and FC showed (92.9%) success rate. There was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) between the three groups regarding to their clinical performance. While the radiographic examinations showed that Pulpotec had the highest radiographic success rate (100%) in comparison to MTA and FC (92.9, 78.6%, respectively) with statistically significant difference between the three tested materials (P > 0.05).ConclusionPulpotec and MTA may be promising materials as pulpotomy agents in primary molars.