Pulpal repair after direct pulp capping with new bioceramic materials: A comparative histological study.

Aim: To histopathologically evaluate the pulpal healing after direct pulp capping with TotalFill and compared it with Neo MTA Plus in human tooth cultures.

Methods: Forty sound human premolars freshly extracted for orthodontic reasons were randomly assigned to two experimental groups; group I: TotalFill and group II: Neo MTA Plus. Standardized Class V cavities were prepared on the buccal surface of each tooth where the pulp exposure was performed with a dental explorer. The pulp-exposed teeth were immediately capped with one of the tested materials. The prepared cavities were then finally restored with glass-ionomer cement. Teeth were cultured for three weeks and three months. Then, the cultured teeth were demineralized, sectioned and stained for histopathological evaluation. Data collected and statistically analyzed by using Fisher's exact test. The significance level was set at P ≤ 0.05.

Results: Histopathological analysis showed complete dentin bridge formation and an absence of inflammatory pulp response. Statistical analysis showed no significant differences between the TotalFill and Neo MTA Plus groups during the observation periods. However, a significantly higher thickness of the dentin bridge was found in the group of teeth treated with TotalFill at three months.

Conclusions: TotalFill produced similar favorable pulp healing and repair, and were comparable to Neo MTA Plus. Furthermore, TotalFill can form a thicker dentin bridge compared with Neo MTA Plus.