The effect of apicoectomy before replantation on periodontal and pulpal healing in teeth in monkeys

The effect of resection of the apical part of the root before replantation upon periodontal and pulpal healing was studied in 7 green Vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) using teeth with incomplete and complete root formation. Maxillary central incisors, mandibular lateral incisors and first and second mandibular molars were used in this experiment. On one side, the tooth was extracted and replanted with an intact root while the contralateral tooth had 2 mm of the apex resected for the purpose of facilitating pulpal repair and eliminating resorption in the resorption-prone region of the root. The replanted teeth were examined histologically 8 weeks after replantation. The histometric analysis revealed no significant difference in periodontal healing between teeth with or without apical resection. With regard to pulpal healing, apical resection was found to lead to significantly less vital pulp tissue in teeth with immature root formation. A similar, but not significant difference was found for mature teeth. Based on these findings, it could not be recommended that apices be resected prior to replantation in order to improve pulpal repair.