The cement used to calm an irritated dental pulp is polycarboxylate cement. It is a restorative material that is also bio-compatible. It can work independently or as a base for a composite resin. However, it is much weaker than other filling materials and can quickly wear and tear. At the same time, its color also does not match the translucent color of the original teeth.
How to regrow dental pulp?
Dental pulp does not heal itself. It has to be removed to eradicate infection at its root. However, it can be regrown. The process is called pulp regeneration. It is a treatment that helps infected pulp heal.
Pulp regeneration is done by employing regeneration scaffolding. The scaffolding may be made of the following:
- fibrin: a protein substance
- transglutaminase gelatin: bonds between different gelatin strands
- alginate: used in tissue engineering applications and wound healing
- chitin-HyA: chitin is a long-chain polymer and a derivative of glucose
- chitin-PGLA
- peptides: a kind of amino acid that helps build body tissues
- synthetic ECM: may comprise collagen, fibronectin, laminin, and other proteins.
What is a dental pulp vitality test?
A dental pulp vitality test examines the vitality of the infected tooth. It determines the blood flow into the pulp, which is essential for understanding the tooth’s overall health. It also highlights if the tooth will respond to a stimulus or therapy. The test is vital for a dentist to plan the right dental treatment for their patient.
There are two kinds of sensitivity tests available for dental pulp:
- Electric pulp test: determines the presence of nerve fibers but cannot state whether the pulp is good.
- Thermal test: provides heat to the pulp to assess its response.
- Cavity test: an invasive process that involves drilling a hole into the tooth to examine the pulp.
- Bite test: determines any fracture in the tooth.
- Laser Doppler flowmetry: detects the blood flow in the pulp tissue.
- Pulse oximetry: determines oxygen saturation level in the blood.
How do you do a dental pulp test?
During the pulp testing process, your dentist will use a medium on your tooth before placing the tip of the electrical tester on the tooth’s surface. Another test involves holding a cold Q-tip on the tooth for a few seconds to see if it produces any pain and how long it lingers.
In the Laser Doppler Flowmetry process, a diode projects an infrared light beam into a tooth’s pulp chamber. A pulse oximeter also projects a light beam on the blood to determine its oxygen level.
Which is the best dental pulp testing method?
According to the Journal of Endodontics, Laser Doppler Flowmetry and Pulse Oximetry are today’s most accurate dental pulp testing methods. The journal also found that Heat Pulp Testing, or HPT, was the least accurate testing method, although it is used by many dentists. International Endodontic Journal considers Laser Doppler Flowmetry the “only available true indicator of the actual state of pulpal health.”
Which company should I bank my child’s dental pulp with?
You may bank your child’s dental pulp with any of the following business organizations:
- Tooth Bank
- BioEden
- ReeLabs
- NDPL
- Future Health (Canada)
How to bank my child’s dental pulp?
Contact the pulp business organization of your choice to learn about their pulp collection process. The process is mostly simple and involves receiving the pulp collection kit and sending the kit back to the organization for banking. Then it is the job of the organization to test the pulp for functionality and store it in a fully controlled facility.
What is a pulp cap dental procedure?
Pulp capping helps restore a tooth if its pulp has not been infected. Direct pulp cap involves treating tooth decay, protecting the pulp from bacteria, and filling the tooth cavity. An indirect pulp cap is used to treat pulp that is still protected inside the tooth chamber.
Your dentist will treat the decay or infection without exposing the pulp, cover it with a protective layer, fill the tooth cavity with a temporary filling substance, and, based on the healing, replace the temporary filling with a permanent filling material.
What does dental pulp look like?
The dental pulp is gelatinous. It is located directly beneath a tooth’s dentin, which lies behind the tooth’s enamel. The tooth pulp is reddish-pink to look at. Unlike enamel and dentin, which are hard, the tooth pulp is soft and non-calcified. A tooth with dead or infected dental pulp may look yellow at first but then grey or black, based on the level of infection or damage, before falling out.
What diseases can be found in dental pulp?
The dental pulp may fall victim to several unwanted conditions or situations, of which pulpitis is the most prominent.
Pulpitis can be reversible and irreversible, based on the severity of the inflammation. Irreversible pulpitis causes intense pain and is often treated with root canal surgery.
Reversible pulpitis, as the name suggests, requires rigorous dental maintenance.
Moreover, your dental pulp may be exposed because of intense pressure or fracture, or the soft fibers inside the pulp chamber can be compressed, turning the pulp into stones.
What does dental pulp form from?
Dental pulp forms in the fetus from neural crest cells. It comprises several materials, including connective tissues, blood cells, dental pulp stem cells, and neural crest cells. Fibroblasts contribute to the creation of connective tissues. They secrete collagen – a protein that helps the tissues have a specific structure. The neural crest cells form the outer surface of the pulp.
They also secrete collagen and penetrate the mineralized dentine. Dental pulp stem cells help the pulp regenerate if required. Of all the cells in the pulp, the dental pulp fibroblasts are found abundantly inside the pulp chamber.
What are the main functions of the tooth pulp?
Dental pulp creates dentin and supplies nutrition to it. Its nutrition includes albumin, transferrin, tenascin, and proteoglycans. When the dentin is damaged, the pulp creates new dentin for the tooth. It keeps the dentin moist and healthy. The dentin it creates is equal in every direction; therefore, it also helps determine the shape of the tooth enamel.
What is dental pulp calcification?
Dental pulp calcification is the compression of connective tissues inside the pulp chamber. It is not clear exactly why this calcification occurs, but when it does, the tissues turn into hard, stone-like entities. Some believe that the calcification results from the pulp creating more dentin than necessary for the tooth, creating a layer of dentin inside the dentin.
However, calcified tissues do not threaten the tooth’s health. They are not painful, either. But they may be required to be removed during a root canal surgery to disinfect an infected tooth.
Sources:
- Japanese Dental Science Review
- Journal of the Canadian Dental Association
- International Journal of Dentistry
- Journal of Endodontics
- International Endodontic Journal
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