Induced post-traumatic apexification: 20 year follow-up and morphological study after new fracture

摘要

Apexification is an endodontic technique used in immature necrotic teeth, the primary goal of which is to induce a calcified barrier in roots with open apices and to promote the continuation of apical root development. A 7-year-old patient with a coronal fracture in a maxillary central incisor was treated with an apexification technique using calcium hydroxide. The apical closure was obtained after one year, then a permanent root canal filling was performed. The tooth was monitored for a period of 20 years, up to when a trauma caused its extraction. The newly formed root was analyzed macroscopically, histologically and through scanning electron microscopy. A morphologically normal root was observed, with a large apex and accessory foramina, showing a combination of tissue structures similar to secondary and tertiary dentine, close to amorphous mineralized areas. Despite the final evolution of the case, calcium hydroxide apexification is a good therapy in order to treat pulp necrosis in an immature tooth, leading to complete development of the root and allowing the tooth to be kept in the mouth. (C) 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.