A long-term followup on the retention rate of zinc oxide eugenol filler after primary tooth pulpectomy.

A retrospective study of all the patients' records (> 6000) in a pediatric dental practice was done to assess ZOE retention after a pulpectomized primary tooth was lost and the succedaneous tooth erupted. There were 65 children with 81 ZOE pulpectomies done in 30 incisors and 51 molars. Pulpectomies were done at a mean chronologic age of 52.2 months and followed for a mean time of 90.8 months from time of placement. The initial radiograph after the pulpectomized tooth was lost, showed retained ZOE filler particles in 49.4% of the cases while 27.3% had retained ZOE a mean time of 40.2 months after pulpectomy tooth loss. Short-filled pulpectomies retained significantly less ZOE than long fills (P = 0.04). With time, retained ZOE particles either resorbed completely or showed reduction of filler size in 80% of the cases. No pathology was associated with the retained ZOE particles. Retention of ZOE was not related to pulpectomy success (P = 0.11), preoperative root resorption (P = 0.76), age of the patient (P = 0.24 incisors; P = 0.87 molars), extraction/exfoliation of the pulpectomy (P = 0.75), or timing of the pulpectomy's loss (P = 0.72).