Hyaluronic acid as a pulpotomy material in primary molars: an up to 30 months retrospective study

Abstract

Objectives The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the long-term clinical and radiographic success of our previous randomized clinical trial (RCT) and to compare the success of hyaluronic acid (HA), with the widely used formocresol (FC) and ferric sulphate (FS) agents. Materials and methods This retrospective study is the extension of the 1-year survey of our RCT that had compared the effectiveness of a HA pulpotomy over FC and FS pulpotomies and included clinical and radiographic evaluations with a follow-up period of over 24 months for 44 children who applied to our clinic between May 2019 and September 2019. Long-term clinical and radiographic data were obtained from the periodic files of our department, wherein each tooth's file was examined to identify any clinical and radiographic findings. Descriptive statistics and Pearson chi-square tests were used to evaluate the data. Statistical significance was considered as p<0.05. Results The clinical and radiographic success rates of the HA, FC, and FS groups were not statistically different at >24 months (p=0.163 and p=0.977, respectively). None of the teeth in the HA group showed any clinical findings at >24 months. Conclusions HA pulpotomies exhibited comparable success rates to FC and FS materials spanning over 24 months examinations. Further long-term follow-up human studies are needed to better understand the effect of HA on the dental pulp of human primary molars. Clinical relevance Because of convenient accessibility and applicability of HA, it may be recommended as a promising alternative medicament for pulpotomy treatments of primary molars.