An 8-year-old has a traumatic injury to tooth #8 with pulp exposure 60 minutes after injury. The tooth is vital and the radiograph shows an OPEN APEX. What is the treatment of choice?

Correct answer: B. Apexogenesis (partial pulpotomy)

• A. Incorrect. Indirect pulp cap does not address an EXPOSED pulp — it is for teeth where the pulp is not yet exposed (thin dentin remaining).
• B. Correct. APEXOGENESIS (partial pulpotomy — Cvek pulpotomy) is the treatment of choice for a VITAL tooth with an OPEN APEX and pulp exposure in a young patient. Removing the superficial inflamed pulp tissue while preserving the vital radicular pulp allows continued root development (apexogenesis) and physiologic apex closure.
• C. Incorrect. APEXIFICATION is for teeth with NECROTIC pulps and open apices (no vital pulp remaining). This tooth is VITAL.
• D. Incorrect. Direct pulp cap is appropriate for small, clean exposures in mature teeth with closed apices. For an 8-year-old with an OPEN APEX, apexogenesis is preferred to allow continued root development.