Nigella sativa oil as a pulp medicament for pulpotomized teeth: a histopathological evaluation.

Purpose: Concerns about the safety of formocresol (FC) as a pulpotomy agent in Pediatric Dentistry have lead to the search of new capping medicaments. Indigenous plant medicines such as Nigella Sativa (NS) have been the focus of many researches. Therefore the purpose of this study was to investigate histo-pathologically the pulp response to NS oil and FC in dogs.

Method: Forty teeth in 4 male dogs of undefined breed aging 12-14 months were used in this study. Coronal access cavities were performed on the upper and lower premolars so that both medicaments were tested in the same animal in alternate sides of the mouth. Four weeks after treatment the animals were sacrificed, paraffin sections were prepared for histological, histochemical and immuno-histochemical staining.

Results: Specimens in the NS group showed mild to moderate vasodilatation. Few specimens showed scattered inflammatory cell infiltration and the odontoblastic layer was continuous. While the FC group showed moderate to severe vasodilatation with high inflammatory cell infiltrate and degenerative changes.

Conclusions: NS possesses an anti-inflammatory effect and the pulp maintains its vitality after its application, which could qualify its use as a pulp medicament for pulpotomized teeth in clinical practice.