Clinical and histological evaluation of thermal injury thresholds in human teeth: A preliminary study

The effect on healthy dental pulp of thermal increases ranging from 8.9 to 14.7 degrees C was evaluated. These temperature increases correspond approximately to those caused by certain restorative procedures, such as tooth preparation with highspeed instruments and the fabrication of direct provisional crowns. Two criteria of evaluation have been used in conjunction, a clinical (symptomatic) and a histological one, to assert with greater precision potential damage to the pulp. The results suggest a low susceptibility of cells to heat, which does not appear to be a major factor of injury, at least in the short term. The main cause of postoperative inflammation or necrosis of the pulp is probably the injury of the dentine, a tissue in direct functional and physiological connection with the pulp.