Study on thermal pulp testing of immature permanent teeth

The duration of reaction to cool stimulation was investigated in 185 normal maxillary right and left central and lateral incisors from 55 pediatric patients aged from 6 to 15 years, who were brought to the Department of Pedodontics of Nippon Dental University Hospital, and from 9 students aged from 19 to 20 years in the School of Dental Technology and Hygiene affiliated with Nippon Dental University by using Dichloro-Difluoro-Methane coolants [PULPER (G-C Dental Industrial Corp.) and PULPOFLUORANE (Septodont Co.)] in order to determine the efficacy of thermal pulp testing for mature and immature permanent teeth. The results obtained are as follows: 1) The mean duration of reaction to cool stimulation according to the type of teeth was 0.93 sec for the maxillary left lateral incisors, 0.91 sec for the maxillary left central incisors, 0.88 sec for the maxillary right central incisors and 0.95 sec for the maxillary right lateral incisors, showing no statistically significant difference in the duration between the tooth types. 2) The duration of reaction to cool stimulation according to age was shortened with aging except for the 6-year-old patients. 3) The patients were divided into those 10 years old or younger and those older than 10 years because the tooth roots of the maxillary anterior teeth are developed at 10 years of age. The mean duration of reaction to cool stimulation was 1.02 sec in the group with immature permanent teeth, which consisted of patients aged 10 years or younger, while it was 0.82 sec in the group with mature permanent teeth, which consisted of patients aged 11 years or older.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)