{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,4]],"date-time":"2026-04-04T07:57:45Z","timestamp":1775289465541,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Maad Rayan Publishing Company","issue":"4","content-domain":{"domain":["joddd.tbzmed.ac.ir"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J Dent Res Dent Clin Dent Prospects"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,31]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Background. Dental pulp (DP) in pediatric patients plays a vital role in dentin formation, nutrition, protection, and tooth repair. Pulpal pathologies are a common reason for pediatric dental visits; however, accurate clinical diagnosis can be challenging, particularly in young patients and those with limited cooperation. Currently, no reliable clinical method exists to definitively determine pulp viability, and histopathological diagnosis remains the gold standard despite its invasiveness. Flow cytometry has proven effective in cellular analysis across biomedical fields and was used in this study to assess pulp viability in pediatric patients with various pulpal conditions. Methods. Forty-four pulp samples from pediatric patients aged 2\u20137 years were classified as healthy pulp (HP), reversible pulpitis (RP), irreversible pulpitis (IP), and pulp necrosis (PN). Flow cytometry using 7-aminoactinomycin D (7-AAD) staining was employed to assess cell viability. Total protein extracts were obtained from each group for SDS-PAGE analysis of protein profiles. Proteolytic activity was evaluated through gelatin zymography to detect matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity. Results. Flow cytometry effectively quantified viable cells across diagnostic categories, revealing minimal differences in viability between HP, RP, and IP, which may explain the clinical challenge of differentiating these conditions. Protein profile analysis showed a progressive reduction in the number of protein bands as pulpal disease advanced, although some bands remained consistent. Proteolytic activity, likely associated with MMP-2, increased with disease progression and was significantly elevated in PN compared to other groups. Conclusion. Flow cytometry proved a valuable tool for quantifying pulp cell viability in pediatric patients, highlighting the narrow clinical distinction between pulpal conditions. Protein profiling suggests the potential to identify diagnostic biomarkers that support less invasive diagnostic approaches. Although matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) activity was present in all stages of pulpal disease, it could not be confirmed as a specific biomarker for disease progression.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.34172\/joddd.025.44083","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,4]],"date-time":"2026-04-04T07:08:32Z","timestamp":1775286512000},"page":"272-278","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34172\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Flow cytometry for assessing pulp viability in pediatric dentistry: An exploratory study"],"prefix":"10.34172","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4548-4315","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Josu\u00e9 Zuriel","family":"Ortiz Garc\u00eda","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Department, Faculty of Dentistry, La Salle Baj\u00edo University, Le\u00f3n, Guanajuato, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-4521-3945","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ismael","family":"Secundino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Department, Faculty of Dentistry, La Salle Baj\u00edo University, Le\u00f3n, Guanajuato, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jos\u00e9 Luis","family":"Ayala Herrera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Department, Faculty of Dentistry, La Salle Baj\u00edo University, Le\u00f3n, Guanajuato, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alejandro","family":"Nava Carmona","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Emergencies, Faculty of Dentistry, La Salle Baj\u00edo University, Le\u00f3n, Guanajuato, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Erika","family":"Cortes Guzm\u00e1n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, La Salle Baj\u00edo University, Le\u00f3n, Guanajuato, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gloria Ariadna","family":"Luevano Garc\u00eda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, La Salle Baj\u00edo University, Le\u00f3n, Guanajuato, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Claudia Mar\u00eda","family":"Alfaro Le\u00f3n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, La Salle Baj\u00edo University, Le\u00f3n, Guanajuato, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sandra Liliana","family":"Morales Cabrera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Department, Faculty of Dentistry, La Salle Baj\u00edo University, Le\u00f3n, Guanajuato, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"20123","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,31]]},"container-title":["Journal of Dental Research, Dental Clinics, Dental Prospects"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/joddd.tbzmed.ac.ir\/PDF\/joddd-19-272.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/joddd.tbzmed.ac.ir\/PDF\/joddd-19-272.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,4]],"date-time":"2026-04-04T07:08:33Z","timestamp":1775286513000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/joddd.tbzmed.ac.ir\/Article\/joddd-44083"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,31]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,31]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,31]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34172\/joddd.025.44083","relation":{},"ISSN":["2008-210X","2008-2118"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2008-210X","type":"print"},{"value":"2008-2118","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,31]]},"assertion":[{"value":"Tabriz University of Medical Sciences","name":"journal_owner","label":"Journal Owner"},{"value":"Tabriz University of Medical Sciences","name":"journal_publisher","label":"Journal Publisher"},{"value":"2025-09-01","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-12-20","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-12-31","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}