Title:  Clinical and radiographic outcomes of direct pulp capping therapy in primary molar teeth following haemostasis with various antiseptics: a randomised controlled trial

Abstract:  Aim This was to evaluate the clinical and radiographic outcomes of direct pulp capping (DPC) therapy in primary molar teeth following haemostasis with various antiseptics for 12 months. Materials and methods A total of 70 vital primary molar teeth with deep dentin caries were randomly allocated to different antiseptic groups. After observing the pinpoint exposure, 0.9% saline solution (SS, control), 0.5% sodium hypochlorite (SH), 2% chlorhexidine digluconate (CHX), or 0.1% octenidine dihydrochloride (OCT) was applied with sterile cotton pellets for 3 min before calcium hydroxide (CH) DPC therapy. Statistical evaluation: The intergroup radiographic success criteria were analysed using a Kruskal-Wallis test in each follow-up period at a confidence interval of 95%. Results After 12 months, all groups showed a clinical success rate of 100% (no clinical failures were observed at the time of pulpectomy or extraction), and the overall radiographic success rates were OCT (100%) > SH (94.74%) > CHX (93.3%) > SS (84.21%), respectively (p > 0.05). OCT did not exhibit any failures. The undesirable radiographic failure types (pulpectomy or extraction) were mostly observed in the SS group. Conclusion Compared with SS, the success of conventional CH usage in DPC therapy of primary molar teeth could be enhanced by providing acceptable disinfection features with antiseptic solutions. OCT seems to have relative beneficial effects compared to SH and CHX.