Two-year outcomes of electrosurgery and calcium-enriched mixture pulpotomy in primary teeth: a randomised clinical trial.

AIM: The purpose of this prospective split-mouth, randomised clinical trial was to assess the clinical and radiographic success rate of pulpotomy in primary molars using calcium-enriched mixture (CEM) cement or placement of zinc oxide eugenol after electrosurgery (ES/ZOE). METHODS: Pulpotomy was performed for 102 primary second molars in 51 children aged between 4 and 6 years. Considering a split-mouth design, for each patient the right and left second primary molars randomly underwent pulpotomy using CEM cement or ES/ZOE. All teeth were restored using preformed metal crowns. Following pulpotomy procedure, teeth were blindly evaluated for clinical and radiographic success after 6, 12 and 24 months. McNemar test and SPSS 16 software were used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: After 24 months, clinical success rates were 100% in both groups, however, radiographic success rates of ES/ZOE and CEM were calculated as 95.2 and 90%, respectively, with no significant difference (p = 0.625). The most common radiographic sign of failure was internal resorption. CONCLUSION: The results of this investigation show that the treatment success rate with CEM cement was similar to the electrosurgical pulpotomy.

Urinary mercury excretion following amalgam filling in children.

OBJECTIVES: Dental amalgam is the major source of inorganic mercury exposure in the general population. Dental amalgam contains approximately 50% mercury, which is a toxic element. Since children are more at risk for mercury toxicity, we aimed to study prospectively the effects of amalgam filling on urinary mercury excretion in 5- to 7-year-old children. METHODS: Children admitted to the Pedodontics Department with no previous amalgam filling, and in a good state of health with one or more carious posterior teeth, were selected. All fillings were placed in one session for each child using Sina (Iran) amalgam powder and Degussa (Germany) mercury, which were mixed by an automated electric amalgamator (Dentomate 3, Germany). Urinary mercury concentrations were estimated before and 9-12 days after amalgam filling by atomic absorption using the mercuric hydride system. RESULTS: Forty-three children (20 male, 23 female) aged 5.95+/-0.92 years and weighing 19.09+/-3.10 kg were studied. Urinary mercury concentrations before and after amalgam filling were 3.83+/-2.45 and 5.14+/-3.14 microg/L, respectively (p = 0.001). There were no statistically significant correlations between the urinary mercury concentrations and any other variables, including the number and surfaces of filled teeth, weight, age, and sex. CONCLUSION: Although there were highly significant increases in urinary mercury concentrations after amalgam filling, no significant correlation was found between the urinary mercury concentration and the amounts of filled amalgam. Additional investigation is required concerning the effects of mercury release from amalgam.