The percentage of children undergoing pulpotomy and
pulpectomy therapy has shown a downward trend over the years, according to a new study based on insurance data.These changes in pulpal therapy practice might indicate a teaching change in pulpal therapy guidelines, suggesting that less invasive pulpal therapy can be used rather than pulpotomies or pulpectomies.
The study has been published in the Journal of the American Dental Association.
Pulpectomy involves removal of all the pulp from the crown and roots of a tooth. It is usually performed in children to save a severely infected primary tooth. In permanent teeth, pulpectomy is the first part of the root canal procedure.
The purpose of this study was to identify differences in
usage trends for 2 specific pulpal therapy treatments in pediatric patients
during an 11-year period from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2020.
Insurance data claims for children aged 2 through 12 years
undergoing a pulpotomy or a pulpectomy performed by a general dentist (GD) or
pediatric dentist (PD) from 2010 through 2020 were extracted from a dental data
warehouse. The state where the provider was located was included in the
extracted claim.
Results:
- Rates of undergoing a pulpotomy or pulpectomy
declined from 2010 through 2020 - PDs were more likely to perform pulpotomies than
GDs but PDs were less likely to perform pulpectomies than GDs - Younger patient age was a significant predictor
for undergoing pulpotomy treatment for both GDs and PDs - With increasing patient age, PDs had increased
odds of performing a pulpectomy and GDs had decreased odds of performing a
pulpectomy - When examining effects according to American
Academy of Pediatric Dentistry national membership districts, the trends
remained consistent with those above.
The percentage of children undergoing pulpotomy and
pulpectomy therapy declined from 2010 through 2020 among both general dentist and
pediatric dentist
Reference:
Lauren M. White, Juan F. Yepes, Allison C. Scully, Gerardo
Maupomé, Michael Milano, Jeffrey A. Dean, et al. Insurance claim data trends in
pulpal therapy for pediatric patients. The Journal of the American Dental
Association