Evidence to Excellence: Mastering VPT in Permanent Teeth
Location
Speaker
Dr Shahad Khalil AlShmali
Dr. Shahad AlShamali is a double board-certified pediatric dentist and a pioneer in evidence-based clinical practice. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where she also earned her Master's in Oral Sciences. Dr. AlShamali has dedicated her career to bridge the gap between research and chairside care. For over 10 years, she has served on the AAPD Evidence-Based Dentistry Pulp Therapy Committee, contributing to three award-winning systematic reviews and three clinical guidelines published in the Pediatric Dentistry Journal. Her recent publication on Vital Pulp Therapy in Permanent Teeth, co-authored with members of the American Association of Endodontists, represents a milestone in the field. This first-ever AAPD guideline covers a wide range of clinical applications and is already being taught worldwide. Dr. AlShamali's work continues to ensure that children and adolescents everywhere receive care rooted in the best available science.
Organizer
Abstract :
Vital pulp therapy (VPT) preserves a permanent tooth's pulp after caries or trauma, avoiding root canal treatment in children and adolescents. This talk presents the first AAPD clinical practice guideline on VPT in permanent teeth, built from systematic reviews answering PICO questions, each graded for strength and certainty of evidence. It covers the four pulp diagnostic categories (normal, reversible pulpitis, irreversible pulpitis, necrotic), the four VPT options (indirect and direct pulp capping, partial and full pulpotomy), and the evidence behind medicament, isolation, and hemostasis choices. A new decision tree and plain-language summary turn these recommendations into chairside practice.
Learning objectives :
- Classify permanent-tooth pulp status into the four diagnostic categories and match each to the right vital pulp therapy.
- Apply the AAPD guideline to choose confidently between pulp capping and pulpotomy techniques.
- Use the guideline's new decision tree to turn evidence-based recommendations into chairside practice.