CHICAGO, Ill., USA: The American Association of Endodontists (AAE), recently released a new position statement on vital pulp therapy, which preserves the vitality and function of the dental pulp after injury resulting from trauma, caries or restorative procedures.
The AAE position statement supports vital pulp therapy, which has already been widely accepted as an option for treating injured pulps in adult teeth that do not yet have fully formed roots, as a treatment option that providers may offer their patients for adult teeth with injured pulps and fully formed roots.
Previously, only root canal therapy or extraction may have been considered for these teeth. Notably, the AAE statement supports complete caries removal, with the feasibility of vital pulp therapy determined by direct inspection of the exposed dental pulp. The statement also addresses, among other considerations, the selection of biomaterials and permanent restoration.
In developing its position statement, a dedicated Special Committee of the AAE based its recommendations on many recent studies demonstrating a high rate of success for these procedures in properly selected cases.
While the paper is presented from the perspective of the specialty of endodontics, its recommendations may be useful to any practitioner in assessing his or her ability to provide vital pulp therapy for the benefit of patients.
The AAE Position Statement on Vital Pulp Therapy (2021) can be accessed online at https://www.aae.org/specialty/clinical-resources/guidelines-position-statements/and is part of the association’s ongoing efforts to facilitate the highest standard of patient care.
(Source: American Association of Endodontists)
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