Determination of pulp vitality in vivo with pulse oximetry

Abstract

The method determined consistently the level of blood oxygen saturation of the pulp in maxillary central incisor and canine teeth and can therefore be used for pulp vitality testing. Further studies are required to assess the effectiveness and validity of pulse oximetry in determining pulp vitality in traumatized teeth.

Oxygen Saturation in the Dental Pulp of Maxillary Premolars in Different Age Groups - Part 1

“…Several studies unanimously state that pulse oximeters should be adapted to fit properly on the patients' teeth, since they have been developed to measure SaO 2 in fingers (3,5,(7)(8)(9)(11)(12)(13). The accuracy of the pulse oximeter to evaluated de SaO 2 levels may be associated with equipment calibration.…”

“…These inclusion criteria aimed at eliminating any factors that could affect pulp status. Also, our exclusion criteria were determined so as to exclude any clinical conditions that might impair or limit the use of pulse oximetry, e.g., patients with high venous pressure, cardiovascular diseases, low peripheral perfusion, or hypotension (7). Finally, teeth with a history of occlusal or traumatic dental injury were excluded due to the potential presence of pulp tissue alterations, which could lead to less effective or false-negative responses to pulse oximetry (2,3,5,7,(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)20).…”

“…Different pulse oximetry sensors and techniques have been studied (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(19)(20) with the aim of effectively diagnose pulpal conditions. However, before pulse oximetry can be used to detect dental pulp abnormalities in different clinical situations, reference SaO 2 levels for normal/healthy dental pulps have to be determined (2,(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14).…”

“…Among these new options, pulse oximetry has been incorporated to endodontic practice, constituting a method noninvasive, painless and reliable (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15).…”

Evaluation of sensitivity of teeth after mandibular fractures

“…Using the information provided by recent findings, however, scientists have succeeded in using modern technology to detect tissue blood perfusion of the oral area via laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) 12,14 and pulse oximetry 8 . Therefore, the use of these physiometric tests for tooth vitality detection is a valuable resource 15 .…”