Testing the vitality of teeth using electric pulp testers was reviewed. Two studies then investigated aspects of the application of electric pulp testing (EPT) to healthy first molar teeth.
Twenty volunteers with first molars free of restorations and caries were recruited. One molar from each arch was selected and rubber dam applied. The tester probe was coated with fluoride gel. Seven sites on each crown were EPT tested four times, and all threshold responses recorded. Data were analysed using one way ANOVA at the 0.01 level. The lowest response for both the maxillary and mandibular teeth was with the probe on the mesio-buccal cusp tip. Males responded at a lower level than females at the mesio-buccal cusp tip, but this did not reach statistical significance.
The relationship between pulp areas and dimensions on radiographs and the EPT results was investigated. Standardised bitewing radiographs of the tested molars were mounted and digitally scanned. Five measurements were taken using a computer program; crown width, the mesial and distal pulp horn heights, the area of the clinical crown, and the pulp area in the clinical crown. The four electrode placement sites with the lowest threshold from the pulp testing results were selected. Pearson correlations (2-tailed) were used to relate the measurements. There were no correlations between the coronal pulp size, pulp horn height and the probe placement site. The exception was an anomalous correlation between the distal horn height and mesio-buccal cuspal area of the maxillary molars.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/217793 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Lin, Jack Cheng-Wei, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Otago. School of Dentistry |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://policy01.otago.ac.nz/policies/FMPro?-db=policies.fm&-format=viewpolicy.html&-lay=viewpolicy&-sortfield=Title&Type=Academic&-recid=33025&-find), Copyright Jack Cheng-Wei Lin |
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