Comparison of electrosurgical and formocresol pulpotomy procedures in children

OBJECTIVES: Although previous studies have examined the electrosurgical pulpotomy technique for primary teeth, no well-controlled, clinical human trials have been published. The purpose of this study was to prospectively compare electrosurgical pulpotomies vs. formocresol pulpotomies in human vital primary molar teeth. DESIGN: Fifty children were randomly divided into two groups, 25 receiving an electrosurgical pulpotomy and 25 receiving a formocresol pulpotomy. RESULTS: After at least 5 months postoperative observation time, the clinical and radiographic success rates for the electrosurgical groups were 96 and 84%, respectively; and for the formocresol group, 100 and 92%, respectively. CONCLUSION: There were no statistically significant differences between the success rates for the two groups at the P < 0.05 level as tested by Fisher's exact test. This study failed to demonstrate a difference in the success rate between the electrosurgical and formocresol pulpotomy techniques.