Correlation among clinical diagnosis and hystopathologic exam in pulp alterations

Aim: This study aimed to analyze the pulp tissue by hystopathologic exam from teeth clinically diagnosed as vital pulp. Methods: Twenty patients referred to endodontic treatment due to the presence of tooth pain or prosthetic indication were selected for this study. The clinical diagnosis of dental pulp was based in anamnesis data, physical exam (pulp vitality test, percussion, apical palpation, mobility, visual inspetion) and radiographic exam. The pulp alterations were clinically classified as reversible pulp inflammation (n=9), irreversible pulp inflammation (n=10) and normal pulp (n=1). The pulp tissue was collected from the canal and the samples were fixed in formol 10%. Results: The histologic evaluation revealed pulp calcification in 19 samples (95%) , a degenerative tissue alteration. It was possible to observe normal pulp tissue only in one sample , in agreement to the clinical diagnosis. The pulp inflammation identified by the clinic exams was not observed by the histologic exam. Conclusion: The authors concluded that there is low correlation among clinical diagnosis and the hystophatologic exam.