Vital pulp therapy in dogs and catsMarch 29, 2019Last month, we discussed the rationale behind and approach to conventional (orthograde) endodontic therapy. Orthograde root canal therapy removes the entire contents of the pulp chamber in the root canal system. Vital pulp therapy is a different kind of endodontic procedure, performed instead on teeth that have had recent pulp exposure. Determining whether it's best to perform vital pulp therapy or orthograde root canal therapy for an individual tooth is a judgment call. Most dentists gravitate toward orthograde root canal therapy whenever possible, since it involves removing the entire contents of the pulp and minimizes the likelihood of possible future pain and infection by not leaving to chance whether remaining pulp maintains its vitality. However, orthograde root canal therapy may not be an option for young teeth, as they lack a closed apex. In the past, it was a rule of thumb that vital pulp therapy be performed within 48 hours of pulp exposure in dogs older than 18 months of age and within two weeks in dogs younger than 18 months of age. However, the sooner vital pulp therapy is performed after pulp exposure, the better the chance of success. Therefore, even when a patient is younger than 18 …
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