Endodontic treatment of canine teeth in a cynomolgus monkey ( Macaca fascicularis).

A case of bilateral superior canine tooth pulp necrosis in an 18-year-old male Macaca fascicularis is described . A skull computed tomography scan was performed to confirm the diagnostic suspicion. A successful bilateral endodontic treatment with coronotomy was performed using rotary nickel-titanium instruments. Post-operative dental radiographs confirmed the correct positioning of the sealant. A rapid and excellent clinical recovery was obtained after each surgery. This innovative approach may contribute to improving the quality of root canal treatments provided to non-human primates.

Effectiveness in the Removal of Endotoxins and Microbiological Profile in Primary Endodontic Infections Using 3 Different Instrumentation Systems: A Randomized Clinical Study.

INTRODUCTION: This clinical study was conducted to correlate the microbiological profile and levels of endotoxins found in primary endodontic infection with the presence of clinical features and to evaluate the removal of microorganisms and endotoxins using rotary, reciprocating, and hybrid systems for biomechanical preparation. METHODS: Thirty single root canals with primary endodontic infection were evaluated with signs and symptoms and were randomly divided into 3 groups according to the instrumentation system used (n = 10) as follows: rotary Mtwo instruments (VDW, Munich, Germany) with 8 files, the reciprocating Reciproc system (VDW) with a single file, and Genius hybrid instruments with 3 files (1 rotary and 2 reciprocating files) with irrigation using 24 mL 2.5% sodium hypochlorite. Samples were collected before (S1) and after instrumentation (S2) before being submitted to microbiological culture (colony-forming units/mL) and the checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization test. Endotoxins were quantified using the limulus amebocyte lysate assay. RESULTS: Microbiological culture showed statistical differences in the reduction of colony-forming units/mL with all systems tested (P < .05), but no statistical difference was found among the groups. The most frequently detected species were Capnocytophaga ochracea (53%) and Fusobacterium nucleatum (53%) at S1 and F. nucleatum (50%) and Leptotrichia buccalis (50%) at S2. As for the reduction of endotoxins at S2, Mtwo presented the best results (95.05%) followed by the Genius (91.85%) and Reciproc (64.68%) groups, but no statistical difference was found among the groups. Previous pain, tenderness to percussion, and presence of a sinus tract were associated with specific microorganisms (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Signs and symptoms were correlated with microorganisms. Endodontic treatment was effective in reducing bacteria and endotoxins but was not capable of completely removing them from the root canal.

Numb chin syndrome associated with vertical root fracture and odontogenic infection.

Numb chin syndrome (NCS) is a multifactorial neuropathic disorder associated with paresthesia to the chin, lip, and oral mucosa, particularly arising as a sequela to various dental-related procedures or infections in the mandible. Timely elucidation of the underlying etiology is of paramount importance as the presentation of NCS could serve as a harbinger of malignancy or metastatic disease. This report describes an unusual case of NCS developing synchronously with a vertical root fracture and odontogenic infection in a mandibular first molar. Clinicians should consider the inclusion of a vertical root fracture as plausible cofactor for the development of NCS.

Regenerative Endodontic Procedures: Clinical Outcomes.

Immature teeth are at risk for pulp necrosis, resulting in arrested root development and poor long-term prognosis. There is growing evidence that regenerative endodontic procedures promote desirable clinical outcomes. Despite significant advances in the field of regenerative endodontics and acceptable clinical outcomes, current evidence suggests that the tissues formed following currently used procedures do not completely recapitulate the former pulp-dentin complex. Further research is needed to identify prognostic factors and predictors of successful outcomes and to develop different treatment strategies to better predictably achieve all identified clinical outcomes, while favoring tissue formation that more closely resembles the pulp-dentin complex.

Why not to treat the tooth canal to solve external root resorptions? Here are the principles!

ABSTRACT This paper aims at exposing the foundations or reasons why, in cases of external tooth resorption, including those of orthodontic origin, one should not perform a root canal to treat it. That should be done only to teeth with contamination or pulp necrosis, to remove the periapical inflammation induced by microbial products. When facing cases of external tooth resorption, one's conduct must always respect the following sequence of steps: first of all, identifying the cause accurately; then, planning the therapeutic approach and, finally, adopting the conducts in a very well-founded way. The situations in which endodontic treatment is recommended for tooth resorptions are those when there are: a) pulp necrosis with microbial contamination, b) aseptic pulp necrosis, c) developing calcific metamorphosis of the pulp and d) diagnosis of internal resorption. It is not possible, through the pulp, to control the resorption process that is taking place in the external part, after all, the causes are acting in the periodontal ligament. There is no evidence that justifies applying endodontic treatment, by means of root canal, to control external resorption processes, when the pulp shows vitality.

RESUMO Este artigo tem por objetivo principal expor os fundamentos ou razões pelas quais, em casos de dentes com reabsorção dentária externa, incluindo as de origem ortodôntica, não se deve fazer o canal para tratá-la. Isso se faz apenas nos dentes com contaminação ou necrose pulpar, para remover a inflamação periapical induzida pelos produtos microbianos. Frente a casos de reabsorção dentária externa, as condutas devem premiar sempre a seguinte sequência: primeiro, identificar a causa com precisão; depois, planejar a forma de abordagem terapêutica e, por fim, adotar as condutas de forma muito bem fundamentada. As situações em que o tratamento endodôntico está indicado na terapêutica das reabsorções dentárias são quando houver: a) necrose pulpar por contaminação microbiana, b) necrose pulpar asséptica, c) metamorfose cálcica da polpa inicial e d) diagnóstico de reabsorção interna. Não se consegue, por via pulpar, controlar o processo reabsortivo que está ocorrendo na parte externa; afinal, as causas estão atuando no ligamento periodontal. Não há qualquer evidência que justifique fazer o tratamento endodôntico, via canal, para controlar processos reabsortivos externos, quando a polpa está com vitalidade.

Does Liposomal Bupivacaine (Exparel) Significantly Reduce Postoperative Pain/Numbness in Symptomatic Teeth with a Diagnosis of Necrosis? A Prospective, Randomized, Double-blind Trial.

INTRODUCTION: Medical studies have shown some potential for infiltrations of liposomal bupivacaine (Exparel; Pacira Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, CA), a slow-release bupivacaine solution, to extend postoperative benefits of numbness/pain relief for up to several days. Because the Food and Drug Administration has approved Exparel only for infiltrations, we wanted to evaluate if it would be effective as an infiltration to control postoperative pain. The purpose of this study was to compare an infiltration of bupivacaine with liposomal bupivacaine for postoperative numbness and pain in symptomatic patients diagnosed with pulpal necrosis experiencing moderate to severe preoperative pain. METHODS: One hundred patients randomly received a 4.0-mL buccal infiltration of either bupivacaine or liposomal bupivacaine after endodontic debridement. For postoperative pain, patients were given ibuprofen/acetaminophen, and they could receive narcotic pain medication as an escape. Patients recorded their level of numbness, pain, and medication use the night of the appointment and over the next 5 days. Success was defined as no or mild postoperative pain and no narcotic use. RESULTS: The success rate was 29% for the liposomal group and 22% for the bupivacaine group, with no significant difference (P = .4684) between the groups. Liposomal bupivacaine had some effect on soft tissue numbness, pain, and use of non-narcotic medications, but it was not clinically significant. There was no significant difference in the need for escape medication. CONCLUSIONS: For symptomatic patients diagnosed with pulpal necrosis experiencing moderate to severe preoperative pain, a 4.0-mL infiltration of liposomal bupivacaine did not result in a statistically significant increase in postoperative success compared with an infiltration of 4.0 mL bupivacaine.

Regeneration or replacement? A case report and review of literature.

Endodontic treatment of immature necrotic teeth is a real challenge. Recently, a biologically based treatment strategy, referred to as regeneration, has been introduced. Tissue regeneration requires the presence of stems cells, a scaffold, and growth factors. Endodontic regeneration may improve the prognosis of immature necrotic teeth by re-establishing the functional pulpal tissue and further development of the root. However, the tissue formed in the pulpal space may not be original pulp tissue, and in some cases, it may result in uncontrolled calcification of the pulp. This study reports a case of successful endodontic regeneration and compares this process with the normal development of the contralateral tooth. Finally, it discusses the nature of the tissue formed during endodontic regeneration.

Efficacy of a Buffered 4% Lidocaine Formulation for Incision and Drainage: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-blind Study.

INTRODUCTION: Incision and drainage of symptomatic emergency patients with facial swelling is painful even after local anesthetics are administered. The purpose of this prospective, randomized, double-blind study was to compare the pain of infiltration and the pain of an incision and drainage procedure of a buffered versus a nonbuffered 4% lidocaine formulation in symptomatic emergency patients presenting with a diagnosis of pulpal necrosis, associated periapical area, and an acute clinical swelling. METHODS: Eighty-eight emergency patients were randomly divided into 2 groups to receive 2 intraoral infiltration injections (mesial and distal to the swelling) of either 4% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine buffered with 0.18 mL 8.4% sodium bicarbonate using the Onpharma (Los Gatos, CA) buffering system or 4% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine. Subjects rated the pain of needle insertion, needle placement, and solution deposition for each injection using a 170-mm visual analog scale. An incision and drainage procedure was performed, and subjects rated the pain of incision, drainage, and dissection on a 170-mm visual analog scale. RESULTS: No significant differences between the buffered and nonbuffered 4% lidocaine formulations were found for needle insertion, placement, and solution deposition of the infiltration injections or for the treatment phases of incision, drainage, and dissection. CONCLUSIONS: Buffering a 4% lidocaine formulation did not significantly decrease the pain of infiltrations or significantly decrease the pain of the incision and drainage procedure when compared with a nonbuffered 4% lidocaine formulation in symptomatic patients with a diagnosis of pulpal necrosis and associated acute swelling.

Guided tissue regeneration in endodontic surgery by using a bioactive resorbable membrane.

INTRODUCTION: Guided tissue regeneration is a valuable technique available to the endodontist because the quality, quantity, or extent of bone loss cannot be visualized by the surgeon until the tissue is reflected and the surgical site is exposed. METHODS: After repeated attempts at nonsurgical treatment, a patient with a recurring sinus tract over the distobuccal root of an upper molar ultimately had the distobuccal root resected, leaving a 10 × 10 mm bony defect. This dehiscence was filled with freeze-dried bone and covered with a flexible and absorbable bioactive membrane that was new to endodontics. RESULTS: Healing was uneventful, and bone regeneration was rapid and extensive as observed at the time of a second surgery just 5 months later. This can be attributed at least in part to the use of the bioactive membrane that contains an array of growth factors that enhance cell proliferation, inflammation, recruitment of progenitor cells, and metalloproteinase activity. CONCLUSIONS: The use of the bioactive membrane in endodontic surgery should be considered to best restore the attachment apparatus to the tooth and prevent the downgrowth of a long junctional epithelium. The endodontist's attention must not be limited to the apical region alone.

Minimally invasive microsurgical management of the necrotic, immature apex tooth: case report and treatment recommendations.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this case report is to introduce a minimally invasive microsurgical technique for the treatment of the necrotic, immature apex tooth in adult patients and to provide treatment recommendations. METHOD AND MATERIALS: A 43-year-old male patient was diagnosed with chronic apical periodontitis associated with a necrotic, immature apex of the maxillary central incisor. A minimally invasive microsurgical approach was applied for the treatment of the periapical disease. The crown of the immature apex tooth was left intact. RESULTS: The 1-year follow-up radiograph revealed uneventful healing of the periradicular lesion while soft tissue healing was optimal. CONCLUSION: The minimally invasive microsurgical technique may provide a viable solution for the survival of challenging necrotic, immature apex tooth cases in adults. Proper case selection is mandatory for the success of this technique.

Part III: crystalline fluorapatite-coated hydroxyapatite; potential use as a bacteriostatic agent for both pre-implant cases and retreatment of infected implant sites: a report of 4 cases.

Four cases of peri-implant bone loss associated with undiagnosed necrotic pulps of adjacent teeth are reported. In two cases, bone was obliterated along sinus tracts (fistulas) that coursed between the implant and adjacent tooth. Endodontic treatment was completed on the adjacent teeth concurrent with periapical surgery to seal the tooth apex. The sinus tract (fistula) was excised, and the implant plus tooth surfaces were treated with a combination of concentrated citric acid and 4.3% sodium fluoride solutions. The third case involved peri-implant surgery with endodontic treatment on the adjacent tooth. A fourth case represented an infected socket augmentation which was surgically treated, augmented with microcrystalline fluorapatite in the range of a 300 µm to 400 µm cluster, and allowed to heal for 4 months followed by a trephine bone biopsy and subsequent analysis for bone growth around the fluoridated nonceramic microcrystalline hydroxyapatite (HA). An augmentation procedure employing fluoridated of resorbable HA was then completed. Histologic analysis showed healthy bone regeneration suggesting that therapeutic fluoride treatment and resultant fluorapatite were helpful in inhibiting reinfection following surgical treatment. All 4 infected implant sites were successfully managed and retained using the aforementioned treatment schemes, and there was no evidence of posttreatment infection in any of the 4 cases. It is proposed that fluoride treatment, through the use of 4.3% sodium fluoride and/or fluoridated hydroxyapatite (fluorapatite), shows promise as an adjunctive treatment component in inhibiting peri-implant infection and reinfection when managing ailing or failing implants.

The management of mucosal fenestration: a report of two cases.

AIM: To report on the management of two patients with mucosal fenestration of root apices. SUMMARY: Two cases of mucosal fenestration of root apices were treated by a combination of nonsurgical root canal treatment and surgery. Root-end resection was performed to bring the root apices within the alveolus before root-end filling and packing of the bony defects with demineralized freeze-dried bone allograft. The areas were then covered with connective tissue grafts taken from the hard palate before repositioning the mucogingival flap. At 1 year follow-up, the mucosal fenestrations were completely healed by soft tissue graft coverage, and radiographs revealed bony healing. KEY LEARNING POINTS: * Connective tissue grafts can be used to manage mucosal fenestration. * Periradicular surgery and connective tissue grafts can be used in combination.

Type 2 dens invaginatus in a maxillary lateral incisor: a case report of a conventional endodontic treatment.

Dens invaginatus is a rare malformation of the teeth resulting from the invagination of the tooth crown before biological mineralization occurs. In most cases, the thin or incomplete enamel lining of the invagination cannot prevent the entry of bacteria into the pulp, which leads to pulp necrosis with an eventual periapical inflammatory response. The treatment options include preventive sealing or filling of the invagination, root canal treatment, endodontic apical surgery and extraction. The root canal treatment of such teeth is often complicated because of their anatomical complexity. This case describes a successful non-surgical endodontic treatment of a maxillary lateral incisor with type 2 dens invaginatus with a large periradicular lesion. At follow-up examinations after 6 and 12-months, the tooth was asymptomatic and the healed lesion was evident radiographically

Dens invaginatus in an immature maxillary lateral incisor: a case report of complex endodontic treatment.

This case report presents the surgical endodontic treatment of an Oehlers Class II invaginated immature tooth. In this case, communication between the invagination and the pulp caused pulp necrosis, periapical inflammation, and cessation of root formation. The initial treatment goal was to achieve apexification and then fill both the root canal and the canal of the invagination. After a 6-month treatment with calcium hydroxide dressings, there was no healing radiographically and no sign of a hard tissue barrier in the apex. Periapical surgery with the placement of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) root-end filling was deemed successful at the 1-year recall. To treat dens invaginatus, both conventional and surgical endodontic treatment techniques should be considered. In dens invaginatus, conventional endodontic treatment modalities may be unsuccessful because of inadequate debridement and disinfection; however, subsequent periapical surgery and retrofilling with MTA may promote healing.

Chondroid metaplasia in inflamed pulp tissue: a case report.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present report is to report an unusual case of chondroid metaplasia of the dental pulp. STUDY DESIGN: A white 45-year-old female patient appeared with signs and symptoms of an irreversible pulpitis on an upper left decayed third molar. After extraction, the tooth was fixed, demineralized, and processed for light microscopy. RESULTS: Pulp tissue was replaced at one of the pulp horns by a colliquative necrosis surrounded by neutrophil leucocytes and congested blood vessels. Serial sections demonstrated a complete opening of the decayed tooth to the oral environment, and an area of chondroid metaplasia of the pulp was evident. Chondroid tissue was surrounded by a dense concentration of chronic inflammation cells. CONCLUSIONS: According to the best knowledge of the authors, this is possibly the first report of an occurrence of chondroid metaplasia in the dental pulp. This metaplasia could be the result of an attempt at tissue repair by the pulp tissue injured by the carious lesion. The pathologic changes in the dental pulp could have activated some of the mechanisms that have been described in other tissues, producing the formation of chondroid tissue. Pulp tissue may adapt to changed environmental stimuli by a deviation from normal cell differentiation.

Treatment of combined endodontic-periodontic lesions by intentional replantation and application of hydroxyapatites.

A case of combined endodontic-periodontic lesions on a mandibular first molar was treated by intentional replantation and application of hydroxyapatites. Four months after the surgery, a porcelain-mental full crown restoration was completed. The 15-month follow-up examination showed that the tooth was clinically and radiographically healthy and functioned well.