PULP CALCIFICATIONS IN TRAUMATIZED PRIMARY INCISORS - A MORPHOLOGICALAND INDUCTIVE ANALYSIS STUDY

The purpose of this study was to investigate histopathological changes in primary teeth following trauma, and to look for possible correlati ons between the morphology of pulpal calcification and clinical findin gs. The material consisted of 123 primary teeth from 98 Danish childre n aged 9-108 months (mean age 33.5 +/- 19.7 months) at the time of inj ury. The specimens were analyzed by means of light and scanning and tr ansmission electron microscopy. Data from the clinical investigation a nd from predetermined ranked parameters from the histological analysis were processed in a computerized inductive analysis program. The resu lts, describing patterns of co-variation, are presented as a decision tree. The most common diagnosis was intrusion luxation (54%). In 41% o f all teeth, the degree of obliteration was less than 1/4 of the pulpa l lumen. In most cases (79%), no denticles were visible. When present, 80% of the denticles had a bone-like appearance. Tissues occluding th e pulpal lumen were either dentin-like (49%), bone-like (19%), or fibr otic (9%). It could be concluded that these varying responses could no t be correlated with explicit clinical diagnoses. However, in certain combinations, histological parameters could be correlated to clinical findings.