Formocresol and ferric sulfate have similar success rates in primary molar pulpotomy. In carious primary molars does a pulpotomy performed with ferric sulphate, compared with formocresol, result in greater clinical/radiographic success?

DATA SOURCES: Medline Ovid Library, the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, Science Citation Index (SCI) and System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe (SIGLE).

STUDY SELECTION: Reviews, full reports, or research abstracts of prospective, retrospective, comparative, and/or radiographic studies were included, while case reports and letters were excluded.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: A total of 13 studies (three randomized clinical trials and 10 clinical trials) contributed to the meta-analysis, one randomized clinical trial and one clinical trial were analyzed by the direct technique, and all 13 trials were analyzed by the indirect technique. Data from trials were divided into clinical and radiographic data, and separate statistical analyses were conducted using the direct technique. Odds ratios (ORs) were used to compare the relative success of ferric sulphate and formocresol. Data homogeneity was tested using the chi(2)-test of consistency on the ORs for each trial.

RESULTS

Clinical data indicated that ferric sulphate was significantly more successful than formocresol (OR=1.95; CI=1.01-3.80). Radiographic data indicated no difference between medicaments (OR=0.90; CI=0.58-1.39). Medicaments did not differ with t-tests of clinical (P>0.10) and radiographic (P>0.50) data.

CONCLUSIONS

In human carious primary molars with reversible coronal pulpitis, pulpotomies performed with either formocresol or ferric sulphate are likely to have similar clinical/radiographic success.