TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT RESTORATIONS FOR FRACTURED PERMANENT TEETH WITH IMMATURE APICES - A CLINICAL-STUDY

Clinical and radiological studies of the fractured teeth of patients b etween seven and eleven years old were conducted to assess the use of permanent and immediate (emergency) techniques for reconstructing ante rior permanent teeth with immature apices. The general hypothesis stat es that, given the physical and biocompatible properties of the materi als used in the immediate (emergency) technique, there are no signific ant differences between the two techniques as far as pulp vitality and apical growth are concerned. A sample of fifty-six patients was selec ted. They had Class I, II or III fractures, for which permanent and im mediate (emergency) techniques were used in equal numbers. Thermal, me chanical, and electrical tests were used to evaluate pulp vitality com pared with the homologous tooth. Apical convergence was the radiologic al criterion used for determining the end of the radicular process. Af ter one year, both techniques allow preservation of pulp vitality. Res ults show that, unlike the conventional technique (permanent), radicul ar formation was completed first in teeth reconstructed using the imme diate (emergency) technique. Statistical analysis shows no definitive relationship between the technique used and completion of apical growt h time (P>0.05). In conclusion, comparison between the mediate (perman ent) and immediate (emergency) techniques shows that the immediate (em ergency) technique is an adequate alternative for reconstructing fract ured teeth, because of the greater esthetic and functional advantages at the patient's disposal.