Comparing patient outcomes for teeth treated with traditional root canal therapy versus pulpotomy: A randomized controlled trial

Background: Root canal therapy (RCT) and pulpotomy are two common treatment modalities for managing dental pulp infections, but their comparative effectiveness in terms of patient outcomes remains unclear. This root canal therapy (RCT) aimed to assess and compare patient outcomes between teeth treated with traditional RCT and pulpotomy. Materials and Methods: In this single-center RCT, a total of 120 patients presenting with symptomatic dental pulp infections were randomly assigned to either the RCT group or the pulpotomy group. The RCT group received conventional root canal treatment, which involved complete removal of infected pulp and obturation of the root canals. The pulpotomy group underwent a procedure where only the coronal pulp tissue was removed, followed by the placement of a medicament. Pain levels, infection resolution, and tooth survival were assessed at 6 months and 1 year posttreatment. Results: At the 6-month follow-up, patients in the RCT group reported significantly lower pain scores (2.5 ± 0.8) compared with the pulpotomy group (4.3 ± 1.2, P < 0.001). Infection resolution was also higher in the RCT group (92%) compared with the pulpotomy group (78%) at 6 months. Tooth survival rates at 1 year were significantly higher in the RCT group (95%) compared with the pulpotomy group (81%, P < 0.05). Conclusion: This RCT demonstrates that traditional RCT is superior to pulpotomy in terms of pain reduction, infection resolution, and tooth survival. Patients who underwent RCT experienced less pain, faster infection resolution, and better tooth survival rates compared with those who received pulpotomy. These findings support the use of RCT as the preferred treatment modality for dental pulp infections

Bilateral TMJ Involvement in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory, slowly progressive disease that results in cartilage and bone destruction. Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) involvement is not uncommon in RA, and it is present in about more than 50% of patients; however, TMJ is usually among the last joints to be involved and is associated with many varied clinical signs and symptoms. Hence, RA of TMJ presents to the dentist with great diagnostic challenges. This report presents a case of RA with bilateral TMJ involvement with its classical radiographic findings and review literature