Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the clinical and radiographic success rate of formocresol (FC) and white mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) as pulpotomy materials on primary molars.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty primary molars, with deep carious lesion that exposed a vital but asymptomatic pulp, in 37 children aged 4-7 years were used in the study. The teeth were divided randomly into two treatment groups. Pulpotomy procedure was carried out using FC in group I and white MTA in group II. Clinical and radiographic evaluation of the treatment outcome was carried out at 1, 3, 6 and 9 months post treatment.
Result: The clinical success rates at 9 months for FC and MTA groups were 81% and 100%, while the radiographic success rates for FC and MTA were 81% and 96% respectively. There was a statistically significant difference (p=0.04) between the clinical success rates of FC and MTA. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the radiographic success rates. Conclusion: White MTA showed higher clinical and radiographic success rates as a pulpotomy agent in human primary molars compared to FC. Mineral trioxide aggregate has the potential to be a viable alternative to formocresol. However, the high cost of MTA remains a strong limitation for its popular use.