A review of the regenerative endodontic treatment procedure

Abstract

Traditionally, apexification has been used to treat immature permanent teeth that have lost pulp vitality. This technique promotes the formation of an apical barrier to close the open apex so that the filling materials can be confined to the root canal. Because tissue regeneration cannot be achieved with apexification, a new technique called regenerative endodontic treatment was presented recently to treat immature permanent teeth. Regenerative endodontic treatment is a treatment procedure designed to replace damaged pulp tissue with viable tissue which restores the normal function of the pulp-dentin structure. After regenerative endodontic treatment, continued root development and hard tissue deposition on the dentinal wall can occur under ideal circumstances. However, it is difficult to predict the result of regenerative endodontic treatment. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to summarize multiple factors effects on the result of regenerative endodontic treatment in order to achieve more predictable results. In this study, we investigated the features of regenerative endodontic treatment in comparison with those of other pulp treatment procedures and analyzed the factors that have an effect on regenerative endodontic treatment.

Keywords: Apexification; MTA; Open apex; Pulp treatment; Regenerative endodontic treatment.

Figure 1. The current considerations for regenerative endodontic treatment procedures (Courtesy of the American Association of Endodontics). NaOCl, sodium hypochlorite; EDTA, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; MTA, mineral trioxide aggregate.