Scholarly Article
The Knowledge and Information of Vital Pulp Therapy by Libyan Internship Dentists and Dental Students: A Survey Study
Elkumati , Iman, Alawjali , Samia, abdullah, Arig, Alfetouri, Fatma, Betamar , Naeima
2025-08-12 · AlQalam Journal of Medical and Applied Sciences · University of Tripoli Alahlia
Abstract
The dental pulp is a specialized connective tissue that maintains tooth vitality. Excessive wear or bacterial infiltration can cause irreversible pulp inflammation, often requiring pulpectomy or tooth extraction. Vital pulp therapy is considered a pulp-conserving treatment for permanent teeth. This study aims to evaluate the knowledge of Libyan dental interns and clinical-level students regarding vital pulp therapy (VPT) for permanent teeth, while also examining its correlation with their sociodemographic characteristics. A comprehensive survey consists of two parts: demographic and general information, followed by 22 questions assessing the understanding of vital pulp therapy's indications, procedures, and materials. The questionnaire was mailed (as a soft copy) and distributed by hand (as hard copies) to internship dentists and clinical dental students from two Libyan academic centers in Benghazi. Descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test were used to analyze the responses to the questions. 71% of the 224 respondents were final year dental students, and 28.6% were internship dentists. (76.8%) Of the respondents were females; 23.2% were males. Only 36.2% of respondents knew that (VPT) may be successfully applied in teeth with signs and symptoms of irreversible pulpitis. 72.8% of respondents were familiar with the definition of indirect pulp capping. About 73.7% knew that any leakage to the capping materials would cause failure in VPT. 33.5% reported that Biodentine and TheraCal can be used as direct pulp capping agents. This study found that dental clinical-level students and interns possess a good understanding of the various types and procedural steps involved in Vital Pulp Therapy (VPT).
Keywords
Vital Pulp Therapy, Survey, Libyan Dental Students, Apexogenesis
Citation Details
AlQalam Journal of Medical and Applied Sciences, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 1694-1704