Topical drug treatment for the dental pulp: an idea whose time has come.

摘要

Teeth are extensively innervated, and a spectrum of pain symptoms can be experienced originating in these structures. Severe, spontaneous pain generally indicates an irreversible inflammatory process where the pulp has to be removed and either replaced with an inert material in conventional endodontics, or with a regenerated tissue. In contrast, milder pulpal conditions are potentially reversible. These conditions are marked by brief pain episodes where sensitivity only occurs when thermal, osmotic (in sensitivity to sweets), or tactile stimuli are applied to the teeth. Often these sensitivity symptoms arise in teeth with exposed dentin and can be relieved by the restoration of the tooth, or other treatments that occlude the dentinal tubules.