Aim or purpose: Clinical and radiographic evaluation of four different materials utilized in vital pulpotomy in mandibular primary molars Materials and methods: one hundred and sixty mandibular primary molars in forty children were included as split mouth design. Patients were medically free with an age range from 4-6 years. Inclusion criteria: patients presented with deep carious lesions including the first and second primary molars bilaterally, no evidence of any clinical pathology, mobility and had no tenderness to percussion. Pre-operative radiographs showed no evidence of external or internal root resorption, absence of furcal, periapical radiolucency or widened periodontal ligament space and no more than one-third root resorption detected. The included molars undergone vital pulp therapy and bilaterally randomly divided into four equal groups, group (1) formocresol, group (2) ferric sulphate, group (3) MTA (mineral trioxide aggregate) and group (4) Metapex (calcium hydroxide &iodoform). All treated molars were evaluated both clinically and radiographically for 12 months evaluation period. Data were collected and analysed statistically. Results: It was shown that, at base line, there was no statistically significant difference between clinical as well as radiographic success rates among the four groups. After 3 as well as 6 months, there was a statistically significant difference between clinical and radiographic success rates among the four groups. FS, MTA and Metapex groups showed higher clinical and radiographic success rates than FC group. Conclusions: Ferric sulphate, mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and Calcium hydroxide and iodoform paste (Metapex) provide clinically acceptable alternative to formocresol in vital pulp therapy in primary teeth.
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