Study of Blood Flow in the Dental Pulp by an Electrical Impedance Technique

Abstract

The electrical impedance method, which heretofore has been used to study blood flow on the basis of blood volume changes in an organ or structure during a cardiac cycle, was adapted to the study of blood flow in the tooth pulp. In this structure, volume changes cannot occur because of anatomical limitation, but the velocity of flow is subject to wide variation. The blood vessels of the pulp probably exert significant intrinsic control over the volume flow through this structure. Since the electrical conductance properties of blood in motion change significantly in certain ranges of velocity, the electrical impedance method can serve to follow blood flow changes in the pulp. The calculated blood flow is reasonable when compared with blood volume data on dogs'' teeth. A wide variety of physiological and pharmacological factors which may influence circulation in the pulp can be investigated.