Preferred treatment methods for primary tooth vital pulpotomies. A survey.

This investigation evaluated preferred treatment methods for primary tooth vital pulpotomies. One hundred and thirty surveys were sent to a randomly selected sample of board-certified pediatric dentists practicing in the United States. Ninety-two questionnaires were returned, for a 71% response rate. This yielded a sample group of 92 board-certified pediatric dentists. The most commonly used medicament was formocresol. Seventy-three percent using formocresol said they were not concerned about adverse side effects of formocresol and formaldehyde. Sixty-one percent of respondents used formocresol for primary tooth vital pulpotomies. Twenty-eight percent of respondents used undiluted, and 33% used diluted. The results of this survey suggest that the majority of dentists who used formocresol were not concerned with any adverse effects.