Awareness Of Hot Tooth And Its Management: A Questionnaire Survey

Aim: The successful use of local anesthesia has changed the patient's experience from being painful and dreadful to being much less painful and pleasant. Optimum pain management helps in building up trust and facilitates the entire procedure. However, failure of local anesthesia in case of irreversible pulpitis diminishes these benefits. The term hot pulp generally refers to a pulp that has been diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis; with spontaneous moderate to severe pain.The primary aim of a practitioner is to provide proper diagnosis and treatment and make the patient free from illness Therefore it is necessary for a dentist to have knowledge about hot tooth and management strategies for it. The main aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of clinicians in management of Hot tooth. Materials and Methods: The sample population of this study includes clinicians and postgraduate students. A generalized questionnaire based on hot pulp and its management was prepared and uploaded in an online platform (survey planet) which was circulated among the sample population using various social media platforms. Data collected was assessed and tabulated using Microsoft excel. The collected data was then subjected to statistical analysis using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Results: About 78.8% of the total population were aware of the term hot pulp.71.7% of the total population was aware that hot pulp is irreversible pulpitis which results in failure of anesthesia. 79.9% of the total population were aware about inflamed tissue bringing down the basic form of anesthesia due to a low pH. 68.7% of the total population were aware about Tetrodotoxin resistant ( TTX-R) sodium channels and their resistance to Lidocaine. Change of lidocaine with 1.4% Articaine yields better anesthesia in case of Hot tooth. 74.7% of the total population were aware of this. Conclusion: Within the limits of this study, we observe that the majority of dental practitioners are aware of hot pulp and its management. Clinical significance: This survey aims in creating awareness among dental practitioners.