(PR019) Outcomes and Prognostic Factors of Vital Pulp Therapy in Permanent Teeth with Bioactive Materials at a Medical Center in Southern Taiwan: A Retrospective Study

Vital pulp therapy (VPT) is one of the feasible treatment choices for treating teeth with carious or traumatic pulp exposure, with a success rate of 85-99% when using bioactive materials. This retrospective study aimed to investigate the prognostic factors, such as age, gender, pre-treatment symptoms, different bioactive materials, and treatment methods on the success rate of VPT. We collected the data of 50 patients who received VPT at the Department of Endodontics and Operative Dentistry, Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital, Taiwan, from August 2018 to April 2024. The patients' ages ranged from 9 to 79 years, with an average follow-up period of 16 months. The treatment methods included direct pulp capping, partial pulpotomy, and full pulpotomy. The bioactive materials we used were ProRoot^® MTA and Biodentine^®. All of the cases were restored with composite resin, and rubber dams were used throughout the treatment process. The overall success rate of VPT was 88%, with 62.5% of patients maintaining a positive response in the sensibility test post-treatment. Patients with pre-treatment symptoms (Fisher's exact test, p=0.044) and treated with direct pulp capping (Pearson chi-squared test, p=0.048) had significant negative effect on the success rate. There were no significant differences in the effects of age, gender, and materials on the success rate. This study showed VPT exhibited high success rate in treating permanent teeth with carious or traumatic pulp exposure, but patients with pre-treatment symptoms and treated with direct pulp capping may have a higher likelihood of failure in VPT.