title: Assessment of pulp blood flow in primary and permanent teeth using pulse oximetry.
abstract: Pulse oximetry (PO) is a well-accepted non-invasive method for assessing vascular health, based on oxygen saturation (SaO(2) ) measurements. The objectives of this study were to design and build a custom-made PO dental sensor holder, to evaluate the effectiveness of PO in determining pulp blood flow in primary and permanent teeth, and to compare the SaO(2) levels obtained in teeth and on the little finger of patients. The PO sensor adapted to the custom-made sensor holder is termed as a device to position and hold the PO sensor. This study evaluated SaO(2) readings obtained in the pulp of 123 teeth of 84 children aged 4-13years. The teeth were divided into three groups: group I - primary teeth: 23 central incisors and 28 canines; group II - permanent teeth: 25 central incisors and 28 canines; and group III - endodontically treated teeth (control): 12 permanent central incisors and seven primary central incisors. The pulp blood flow and SaO(2) were measured and were compared with readings of the patient's finger. Data were analyzed by paired t-tests and Pearson's analysis method. The PO was able to identify all the clinically normal pulps contained in the sample, and all the endodontically treated teeth (controls) showed no response. The mean SaO(2) values were 85.27% in the teeth and 92.85% in the fingers. In conclusion, PO readings were effective in determining pulp blood flow in primary and permanent teeth. However, there was no correlation between the SaO(2) values in the fingers and in the teeth of the patients (P<0.05).
authors.affiliation: Department of Endodontics, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil. lelenapozzobon@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: Maria Helena
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Pozzobon
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de Sousa Vieira
authors.forename: Ana Maria Hecke
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.forename: Jessie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reyes-Carmona
authors.forename: Cleonice Silveira
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.forename: Beatriz Dulcinéia Mendes
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.forename: Wilson Tadeu
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Felippe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003481:Cuspid / Q000098:blood supply; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000098:blood supply*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005385:Fingers / Q000098:blood supply; D006801:Humans; D007180:Incisor / Q000098:blood supply; D010092:Oximetry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous / Q000098:blood supply*; D019553:Tooth, Nonvital / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen