LIMITING CLINICAL FACTORS OF PULSE OXIMETRY IN VERIFYING PULPAR OXYGEN SATURATION RATE: A SCOPING REVIEW

A correct endodontic diagnosis is essential for the elaboration of an adequate treatment plan. To establish the diagnosis of dental pain, it is necessary to collect the signs and symptoms and their interpretation. The use of semiotechnical resources that clearly demonstrate the clinical pulp characteristics is fundamental. Currently, conventional electrical and thermal sensitivity tests, most commonly used in pulpal diagnosis, are not accurate and present high subjectivity. For this reason, a test that is capable of evaluating the blood supply of a tooth -and not the response of its innervation, as in sensitivity tests that evaluate through neural stimulation-, is more specific for the diagnosis of pulp vitality. Pulse oximetry is a non-invasive method that has been increasingly used to record pulp oxygen saturation levels. Studies describe the method as successful for pulpal diagnosis, being used in different stages of the disease. However, the oximetric technique has clinical limitations that must be understood so that its results are not misinterpreted during pulpal diagnosis. Therefore, the purpose of this scoping review will be to identify published clinical studies on the use of oximetry in pulpal diagnosis and analyze the bibliometric and methodological variables with emphasis on the limiting factors of the method reported in the studies