Technology and Imaging
Pulp vitality test
A pulp vitality test checks whether the nerve and blood supply inside a tooth is alive. Dentists use cold, heat or electric tests to find out.
The pulp is the soft center of a tooth that holds nerves and blood vessels. Dental pulp testing is a useful diagnostic aid. The common tests are thermal (cold or heat) and electric. They are called sensibility tests because they judge pulp health from how the tooth responds.
True vitality tests, such as laser Doppler flowmetry and pulse oximetry, look at blood flow in the pulp. They are promising but not yet the standard in daily practice. No pulp test is perfect. False results can lead to a wrong diagnosis, so dentists combine test results with your history, an exam, and X-rays like a periapical X-ray.
These tests often come up when a tooth hurts. See root canal and tooth pulp.