Age-related Changes in the Alkaline Phosphatase Activity of Healthy and Inflamed Human Dental Pulp

Abstract Introduction Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) plays an important role in inducing mineralization events in the dental pulp. This study investigated and compared the ALP levels in healthy and inflamed pulp in young and old human pulp. Methods Tissue samples were collected from young (60 years) donors. In both age groups, healthy human pulp ( n = 18) were collected from extracted wisdom teeth. For reversible and irreversible pulpitis, pulp samples ( n = 18 each) were obtained during endodontic treatment. ALP activity was assessed by spectrophotometry and immunhistochemistry. Results Regardless of age, reversible pulpitis group samples showed a slight elevation in ALP activity compared with normal healthy pulp. In elderly patients, ALP expression with irreversible pulpitis was significantly higher than those with a healthy pulp ( P