| REVIEW ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2011 | Volume
: 1
| Issue : 1 | Page : 14-21 |
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Pulse oximetry and laser doppler flowmetry for diagnosis of pulpal vitality
Dakshita Joy Vaghela1, Ashish Amit Sinha2
1 Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Kothiwal Dental College Research Centre and Hospital, Moradabad, India
2 Department of Pedodontics, Kothiwal Dental College Research Centre and Hospital, Moradabad, India
Correspondence Address:
Dakshita Joy Vaghela
Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Kothiwal Dental College Research Centre and Hospital, Moradabad
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/2229-5194.77191
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The usual pulpal diagnostic instruments have been shown to be unreliable in diagnosing the pulpal status of the teeth following a traumatic injury, especially for teeth with immature root formation and open apex. Compounding the problem with these testing methods is that they all are very subjective, dependant on cooperation and understanding of the situation by the patient, which can lead to a further difficulty in cases involving young children. It is important to note that the usual pulp vitality tests provide information only about the presence or absence of nerve receptors in the pulp and not about the pulpal blood supply. Recent efforts for assessing pulpal circulation have involved the use of laser Doppler flowmetry and pulse oximetry. Though both methods are in their infancy and are not yet ready for general clinical applications, but hopefully before long, these technologies will become part of dentists' diagnostic armamentaria. The PubMed database search revealed that the reference list for Pulse Oximetry featured 2196 articles; in dentistry-121 articles and for Laser Doppler Flowmetry-932 articles and in dentistry-18 articles. A forward search was undertaken on selected articles, author names, and contemporary endodontic texts. A review is presented on the key developments in the arena of these pulp-tests to familiarize the modern dentists with the new advances in endodontic diagnosis. |
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