Six months follow-up with pulse oximetry and electric pulp test of teeth with trauma

Early diagnosis of pulp condition in cases of teeth with trauma is very important not only to preserve the vitality of the pulp but also to prevent both early and late traumatic complications. We investigated 120 frontal teeth with traumas. The teeth were tested on 1-st day, 15-th day, 30-th day, 3-rd month, 6-th month by pulse oximetry (PO) and electric pulp test (EPT). The results we received from pulse oximetry show that the saturation levels immediately after the trauma are very high, reaching 90%. Over the time, there has been a tendency for reduction of saturation, reaching a level of 82% by the 6th month, which is within the limit of the norm. The differences between the obtained saturation levels are statistically significant up to the 30th day of the trauma (p <0.05). The EPT results showed that the highest values were immediately after the trauma - 53 μA. The average values obtained for all periods up to and including 3-rd month are higher than the established norms. They differ statistically between each other and from the values, measured at 6-th month, which are average 8 μA. Comparing the circulatory response and the innervation of the traumatized teeth, we could conclude that the blood circulation recovers more quickly within one month, whereas the nerve conduction is restored until the 6-th month. Thus, the implementation of pulse oximetry in dentistry is of great benefit for the total pulp diagnosis – not only of the nerve, but also of the blood circulation.