RESUMO
This study aimed to investigate the wound healing process of injured pulp tissues with Emdogain gel (EMD). Pulpotomy was performed for the first molars of the mandibles in rats. EMD or Vitapex (VIT)-containing calcium hydroxide was applied to the exposed pulp tissues. The treated teeth were extracted after 7, 14, and 28 days and prepared for histologic examination. In the VIT-treated group, the number of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta)-expressing macrophages initially increased, followed by that of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1)-expressing macrophages. The number of cells expressing bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) gradually increased with reparative dentin formation. Meanwhile, in the EMD-treated group, cells expressing IL-1 beta or TGF-beta1 were few. However, the number of BMP-expressing cells, partly macrophages, increased in the early phase, and large amounts of reparative dentin were observed. This study demonstrated that different healing processes existed for EMD and VIT. BMP-expressing macrophages might play important roles in reparative dentin formation.