Over the last decade, rapid progress has been made in the field of pulp therapies to heal injured teeth. As mentioned before, treatment options available to preserve the pulp are called either vital or non-vital pulp therapies. Vital pulp therapy, also called pulp capping, is similar to applying a band-aid with some medicine onto the live pulp. The purpose of vital pulp therapy is to preserve the pulp tissue and keep it healthy, particularly in young adults whose teeth have been partially affected by caries or trauma. Vital pulp therapies are based on the ability of the pulp to repair itself, in the absence of infection. Most commonly, calcium-based medicines are used to treat the pulp in the crown of the tooth and restore its vitality. After healing the pulp, the damaged enamel and dentin are replaced with tooth-colored materials called composites, or silver-containing dark metallic fillings.

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