Preserving pulpal vitality is a major challenge when excavating deep caries lesions without severe symptomatology. Pulpal exposure alters success of the treatment (dropping from 93% for indirect pulp treatment with selective excavation to 11% for direct pulpotomy) and thus prognosis of dental organ and cost-effectiveness of the treatment. The preoperative x-ray is a complementary examination which allows to estimate the depth of the carious lesion. In clinical practice, it is currently difficult to accurately measure this depth on preoperative radiographs. This lack of precision leads to a decrease in the effective capacity of the operator to predict the risk of pulpal exposure. Their interpretation is considered imprecise and is not used as a diagnostic element. The aim of this study was to determine if the use of pre-operative retroalveolar radiographs can help to predict pulpal exposure risk.
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Measurement of residual dentin thickness and total dentin thickness on standard pre-operative radiographs
Timeframe: Outcome measure was assessed trough study completion, an average of 1 year.