Clinical and Radiographic Success Rates of Pulpotomies in Primary Molars Treated with Formocresol, Biodentine™, and Endo Repair: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Objective: To compare the clinical and radiographic success rates of formocresol, Biodentine™, and Endo Repair agents in primary molars after 12 months. Material and Methods: This randomized double-blind clinical trial was conducted on healthy children referred to the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Kerman, Iran, in 2018. One hundred twenty children (human primary molar teeth) aged 3-9 years were selected and randomly divided into three interventions (with pulpotomy medicament agents), including formocresol, Biodentine™, and Endo Repair. All pulpotomized teeth were restored using stainless steel crowns and evaluated clinically and radiographically during a 12-month follow-up. Fisher exact test was used to determine the association of categorical variables and the data were analysed with SPSS 25. Results: All the available teeth in formocresol and Biodentine™ groups obtained clinical success, whereas 62.5% of the Endo Repair group was successful in this regard. Radiographic success rates of the formocresol, Biodentine™, and Endo Repair groups were 94.7%, 70%, and 28.1% after a 12-month follow-up, respectively. Moreover, pulp canal obliteration was observed in 26.3%, 25%, and 12.5% of the formocresol, Biodentine™, and Endo Repair groups. Conclusion: This study reported a high rate of clinical success using both Biodentine™ and formocresol pulpotomy techniques. However, the radiographic success rate of formocresol was higher than that of Biodentine™, and Endo Repair was not considered a suitable pulpotomy medicament agent.