Outcomes of direct pulp capping: interrogating an insurance database
, , , , , . Outcomes of direct pulp capping: interrogating an insurance database. International Endodontic Journal.
Abstract
Aim
To
evaluate the effectiveness of direct pulp capping under general
practice conditions. It was hypothesized that direct pulp capping is an
effective procedure in the majority of cases and prevents the need for
root canal treatment or extraction.
Methodology
Claims
data were collected from the digital database of a major German
national health insurance company. Only patients who had been insurance
members for the entire 3 year period 2010 to 2012 were eligible.
Kaplan–Meier survival analyses were conducted for all teeth with direct
pulp capping. Success was defined as not undergoing root canal
treatment. Survival was defined as not undergoing extraction.
Differences between survival functions were tested with the log rank
test.
Results
A
total of 148 312 teeth were included. The overall success rate was
71.6% at 3 years. The overall survival rate was 95.9% at 3 years. The
success rates for single-rooted teeth (71.8%) and multirooted teeth
(71.5%) were similar although significantly different (P < 0.001). Best 3-year success rates were found at low (79.7%; <18 age="" and="" high="" nbsp="" very="" years.="">85 years.).
Conclusions
After
direct pulp capping, more than two-thirds of the affected teeth did not
undergo root canal treatment within 3 years. Although this study has
the typical limits of a claims data analysis, it can be concluded that
direct pulp capping is an effective intervention to avoid root canal
treatment and extraction in a general practice setting.
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