“Pulse Oximetryin Pulp Vitality Test – Comparative Evaluation with the Conventional Techniques

Context:This studycompares the clinical effectiveness of newly designed pulse oximetry probe over conventional technique of electric pulp testing and thermal testing. Aims:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of customized pulseoximeter probe over the conventional thermal and electrical testing of tooth vitality Settings and Design:The conventional pulse oximetry probe was customized for the purpose of pulp vitality test and was used in this study and registered excellent readings. Methods and Material:One hundred and twenty five patients in the age group 15-35 years, were included in this study. Out of them, fifty patients with normal maxillary central incisors served as group I, and seventy-five patients in whom one of the maxillary incisors was traumatized served as group II.As a control population to confirm the readings, 10 known non-vital maxillary central incisors with complete endodontic fillings were tested. Statistical analysis used: Spearman correlation test & MannWhiteny U test. Results:In all the groups, The 10 known non-vital teeth with complete endodontic fillings recorded oxygen saturation (SaO2) values of 0% and showed no response to electrical and thermal testing procedures. In group IThe SaO2 values obtained on the teeth were correlated with the electric pulp tester readings. The correlation between the SaO2 readings and electrical testing readings was found to be negative. The correlation was highly significant (p<0.001).The correlation of the pulse rate readings from the pulp with electric pulp tester readings were also found to be significant (p<0. 05). In group II Oxygen saturation and pulse rate value of the tooth showed a negative correlation with electric pulp tester. Conclusions: Present study shows that pulseoximetrywith probe modification can be successfully used for pulp