Exploration of biomarkers for the diagnosis of pulpitis

LIU Zhenkun; ZOU Xiaoying; YUE Lin

doi:10.15956/j.cnki.chin.j.conserv.dent.2026.02.001

Abstract：Pulpitis is an inflammatory response of the dental pulp tissue triggered caused by biological,physical and chemical stimuli.Histopathological examination serves as the gold standard for diagnosing pulp inflammation and evaluating its severity.Clinical diagnosis of pulpitis mainly relies on the classic"three-step"approach,which involves obtaining a preliminary impression based on patient's medical history and subjective symptoms,identifying the affected tooth through oral examination,and confirming the presence of pulp inflammation via dental pulp thermal sensitivity tests.Comprehensive clinical judgment classifies affected teeth into two main types:reversible pulpitis and irreversible pulpitis.However,the pain symptoms associated with pulpitis vary significantly among patients,and the results of pulp thermal tests do not accurately reflect the actual pathological status of the pulp tissue.Therefore,clinical differentiation between"reversible"and"irreversible"pulpitis often lacks objective criteria,which poses a dilemma for clinicians when making vital pulp therapy strategies.On the other hand,pulp tissue is a type of connective tissue,and its histopathological changes and molecular biological features during inflammation share notable similarities with those of other connective tissues in the human body.Thus,identifying biomarkers that can objectively and quantitatively reflect the degree of pulp inflammation and its regenerative potential has emerged as a research focus for addressing the clinical diagnostic challenges of pulpitis.This paper intends to systematically review the biological basis and current research status of biomarkers for pulpitis diagnosis.It also explore their sampling sources and collection methods of these biomarkers,and summarizes existing detection and analysis techniques,with the goal of providing a theoretical reference and basis for the translational application of biomarkers in the clinical diagnosis of pulpitis.