Resorption of autotransplanted human teeth: a retrospective study of 291 transplantations over a period of 25 years

Summary. An assessment was made of the postoperative fate of 291 autotransplanted human teeth, carried out in the period from 1955 to 1980, with special reference to root resorption.
Root resorption was found to be the major cause of graft loss ( P < 0.0001), During the observation period, inflammatory resorption (IR) was diagnosed in 94 cases, leading to graft loss in 39 cases (mean survival time for grafts with IR was 7.2 years). Replacement resorption (RR) was found in 52 cases, leading to graft loss in 19 cases during the observation period, but with a considerably lower intensity of graft loss than in the IR group (mean survival time for grafts with RR was 12.0 years).
The influence of several pre- and peroperative factors on the appearance of the two types of root resorption following autotransplantation was investigated. Premolars were found to be significantly less affected by IR compared with molars, and canines were more frequently affected by IR (64 per cent). The younger the patient, and especially the earlier the stage of root development of the donor tooth, the less IR, although pulp obliteration occurred more frequently in the early graft developmental stage. Ectopia of the donor tooth seemed to be followed by an increased frequency of IR and RR after transplantation.
Extraoral storage induced both IR and RR. Peroperative endodontic treatment should be avoided, although endodontic treatment, in general, seemed to have an arresting influence on IR. Marginal bone loss seemed to affect fully developed grafts more than grafts transplanted at an earlier stage but, in general, root resorption was found to be the most relevant complication of autotransplanted human teeth.