Revascularization after cryopreservation and autotransplantation of immature and mature apicoectomized teeth

Autotransplantation of immature teeth can have a success rate of almost 98% if the tooth is atraumatically transplanted from the donor site to a suita ble acceptor site and the extraoral time is kept to a minimum. When the too th cannot be transplanted immediately, cryopreservation and storage in a to oth bank offer new possibilities for autotransplantation. However, the effe ct of cryopreservation on the revascularization of transplanted teeth is st ill unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine revascularization in immature teeth that have an open apex and in mature teeth that have had the apex cut. The study was carried out on 16 teeth in 2 dogs; 8 teeth were re moved and immediately transplanted to the contralateral position and 8 teet h were cryopreserved and transplanted I week later. The results show that: (1) teeth can revascularize after autotransplantation if the original pulp tissue is removed at the time of extraction, (2) there is no significant di fference in the amount of revascularization between teeth stored in a tooth bank for 7 days and those immediately transplanted without freezing, and ( 3) there is no difference in the ingrowth of new pulpal tissue between matu re apicoectomized teeth and immature teeth.