ABSTRACT
The functional life of the tooth is determined by the vitality of the dentin-pulp complex. The importance of maintaining the vitality of the dental pulp after pathological changes in the hard tissue of a tooth caused by mechanical trauma or chronic irritation (carious lesions) is thus well accepted. The pulp maintains tissue homeostasis after tooth development and underpins the defense reactions taking place in response to injury and the reparative events leading to tissue regeneration (Smith, 2003).
