Endodontic implications of dental trauma: useful tips for primary dental care

Abstract

Dental trauma is the fifth most common condition affecting human beings worldwide. The dental team can expect to encounter traumatic dental injuries in everyday practice. Dental trauma guidelines guide practice and should be available to the dental team faced with an acute presentation of injury in a patient of any age. The management of dental trauma and the endodontic materials available for intervention of its complications are rapidly evolving. This paper provides an important update for the primary dental care team regarding the endodontic management of dental trauma.

Fig. 1

a, b, c, d, e) Series of various periapical radiographs of traumatised teeth experiencing infection-related and replacement-related resorption

Fig. 2

a, b, c) Late presentation of replacement-related resorption and infraocclusion of the 21 in a growing child during the COVID-19 pandemic

Fig. 3

a, b, c) Dental trauma managed outside of guidelines following avulsion of the 11 and severe intrusion of the 21 in a growing child, leading to replacement-related resorption and the eventual decoronation of both teeth

Fig. 4

Teeth that are traumatised and subsequently experience pulpal necrosis and apexogenesis in young children might have very immature roots that are susceptible to fracture. Regenerative endodontic procedures are evolving to provide a possible improved prognosis for these cases in the future