page_title: Pulpotomy
hierarchical_section_title: Pulpotomy
caption_attribution_description: English: Pulpotomy in a deciduous (baby) tooth
context_page_description: Pulpotomy is a minimally invasive procedure performed in children on a primary tooth with extensive caries but without evidence of root pathology. The minimally invasive endodontic techniques of vital pulp therapy are based on improved understanding of the capacity of pulp tissues to heal and regenerate plus the availability of advanced endodontic materials. During the caries removal, this results in a carious or mechanical pulp exposure from the cavity. During pulpotomy, the inflamed/diseased pulp tissue is removed from the coronal pulp chamber of the tooth leaving healthy pulp tissue which is dressed with a long-term clinically-successful medicament that maintains the survival of the pulp and promotes repair. There are various types of medicament placed above the vital pulp such as Buckley’s Solution of formocresol, ferric sulfate, calcium hydroxide or MTA. MTA is a more recent material used for pulpotomies with a high rate of success, better than formocresol or ferric sulfate. It is also recommended to be the preferred pulpotomy agent in the future.
context_section_description: Pulpotomy is a minimally invasive procedure performed in children on a primary tooth with extensive caries but without evidence of root pathology. The minimally invasive endodontic techniques of vital pulp therapy (VPT) are based on improved understanding of the capacity of pulp (nerve) tissues to heal and regenerate plus the availability of advanced endodontic materials. During the caries removal, this  results in a carious or mechanical pulp exposure (bleeding) from the cavity. During pulpotomy, the inflamed/diseased pulp tissue is removed from the coronal pulp chamber of the tooth leaving healthy pulp tissue which is dressed with a long-term clinically-successful medicament that maintains the survival of the pulp and promotes repair. There are various types of medicament placed above the vital pulp such as Buckley’s Solution of formocresol, ferric sulfate, calcium hydroxide or MTA. MTA is a more recent material used for pulpotomies with a high rate of success, better than formocresol or ferric sulfate. It is also recommended to be the preferred pulpotomy agent in the future. After the coronal pulp chamber is filled, the tooth is restored with a filling material that seals the tooth from microleakage, such as a stainless steel crown which is the most effective long-term restoration. However, if there is sufficient remaining supporting tooth structure, other filling materials such as amalgam or composite resin can provide a functional alternative when the primary tooth has a life span of two years or less. The medium- to long-term treatment outcomes of pulpotomy in symptomatic permanent teeth with caries, especially in young people, indicate that pulpotomy can be a potential alternative to root canal therapy (RCT).
  There is another term, which is also related to vital pulp therapy, which is apexogenesis. 
  Apexogenesis is a treatment in preserving vital pulp tissue in the apical part of a root canal to allow the completion in formation of the root apex. This clinical procedure is essentially a deep pulpotomy, aimed to preserve the pulp in immature teeth that have deep pulpal inflammation. Examples include teeth with carious exposures and trauma in which treatment of the exposed pulp is delayed and it becomes necessary to extend farther into the canal to reach healthy tissue.
caption: Diagram of pulpotomy.
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