Histopathological changes of the pulp in periodontally compromised teeth

Abstract

Background: Pulp as well as periodontium has an interrelationship in terms of development, structure, and function. The interrelationship of periodontitis and pulpal pathologies is contentious with some rivals and evidently incongruous lines of evidence being presented in the literary. Aims and Objectives: The aim and objective of our study was to analyze, “the pulpal variations in the tooth affected by moderate-to-severe grade of periodontitis histopathologically.” Materials and Methodology: Twenty single-rooted, nondecayed, mobile teeth which were clinically and radiographically diagnosed as periodontally affected were extracted. The diagnosed and collected teeth were instantly fixed in 10% neutral-buffered formalin for 48 h, after sectioning off the crown to allow the formalin to diffuse through root canals and fix the pulp tissue. The formalin-fixed sectioned roots were decalcified with formalin-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (Hillman and Lee solution). It took around 8–10 weeks for decalcification. Demineralized specimens were further subjected to processing and stained using hematoxylin and eosin for analysis. Results: The common histopathological findings were inflammation (80%), which was of chronic type in most specimens. Edema (80%) and moderate-to-severe fibrosis (100%) were also noticed in a majority of the specimens. Other findings noticed were dilated blood vessels (30%) and atrophied blood vessels (30%) with free pulp stones (50%). Necrosis (10%) and loss of odontoblastic integrity were the least common findings. Conclusion: Histopathological changes of varying degrees of degeneration were noted in the pulp due to periodontitis.