Comparative clinical evaluation of chemomechanical caries removal agent Papacarie® with conventional method among rural population in India - in vivo study

The use of minimally invasive procedures and attention to patient comfort are of great importance, especially for dental treatment in young children. This has led to the development of chemomechanical methods for caries removal. Aim: To evaluate and compare the antimicrobial efficacy, efficacy in terms of time consumption and pain perception of chemomechanical caries removal agent Papacarie® and conventional method of caries removal. Methods: Subjects for this study were chosen from children admitted to dental clinic for restorative procedures. Forty children (age 4-8 years) with early childhood caries were included in this study. Two primary teeth with comparable degrees of carious destruction were chosen in each child for caries removal with either Papacarie® or rotary instruments. The time taken for caries removal was measured using stopwatch. Pain response during caries removal was evaluated using the Wong Baker Face Pain Scale. Dentin samples of both groups were taken prior to, and after caries removal for microbiological analysis. Results The time taken for caries removal in chemomechanical caries removal method was three times longer than the conventional method. Pain score during chemomechanical method of caries removal was 1.525 as compared with 6.65 when conventional method was used. The antimicrobial efficacy of chemomechanical caries removal was significantly similar to conventional method. Conclusions: Papacarie® can be an effective clinical alternative treatment for the removal of occlusal dentinal caries in cavitated primary molars