Clinical and Histological Evaluation of Direct Pulp Capping on Human Pulp Tissue Using a Dentin Adhesive System

Table 2

Scores used during the histological analyses of the calcific barriers and dental pulp.

Scores	Calcific barrier continuity
1	Complete dentin bridge formation
2	Partial/incomplete dentin bridge formation extending to more than one-half of the exposure site but not completely closing the exposure site
3	Initial dentin bridge formation extending to not more than one-half of the exposure site
4	No dentin bridge formation
Scores	Calcific barrier morphology
1	Dentin or dentin associated with irregular hard tissue
2	Only irregular hard tissue deposition
3	Only a thin layer of hard tissue deposition
4	No hard tissue deposition
Scores	Calcific barrier thickness
1	>0.25 mm
2	0.1–0.25 mm
3	<0.1 mm
4	Absent bridge
Scores	Inflammation type
1	No inflammation
2	Chronic inflammation
3	Acute and chronic inflammation
4	Acute inflammation
Scores	Inflammation intensity
1	Absent or very few inflammatory cells
2	Mild (an average of <10 inflammatory cells)
3	Moderate (an average of 10–25 inflammatory cells)
4	Severe (an average of >25 inflammatory cells)
Scores	Inflammation extensity
1	Absent
2	Mild (inflammatory cells next to dentin bridge or area of pulp exposure only)
3	Moderate (inflammatory cells observed in one-third or more of the coronal pulp or in the midpulp)
4	Severe (all of the coronal pulp is infiltrated or necrotic)
Scores	Odontoblastic cell layer
1	Palisade pattern of cells
2	Presence of odontoblast cells and odontoblast-like cells
3	Presence of odontoblast-like cells only
4	Absent
Scores	Presence of bacteria
1	Absence
2	Presence of stained bacterial profiles along the coronal or apical walls
3	Presence of stained bacterial profiles within the cut dentinal tubules or axial wall
4	Presence of stained bacterial profiles within the dental pulp