Rapid prototyping-assisted tooth autotransplantation is associated with a reduced root canal treatment rate: a retrospective cohort study

• Published in: BMC oral health 2022-02, Vol.22 (1), p.25-25, Article 25
• Main Authors: Hwang, Lisa Alice, Chang, Chi-Yuan, Su, Wei-Chia, Chang, Chi-Wha, Huang, Chien-Yu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Autografts; Autotransplantation; Cohort analysis; Dental Pulp Cavity; Endodontics; Evaluation; Health aspects; Humans; Literature reviews; Medical prognosis; Methods; Open source software; Patients; Pediatrics; Population studies; Rapid prototyping; Root Canal Therapy; Root canal treatment; Root canals; Success; Surgeons; Surgery; Surgery, Computer-Assisted; Survival; Teeth; Tooth; Tooth Root; Transplantation, Autologous; Transplants & implants; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 1472-6831; 1472-6831
• DOI: 10.1186/s12903-022-02058-9

Autotransplantation is a beneficial treatment with a high success rate for young patients. However, most adult patients require root canal treatment (RCT) of the donor teeth after the autotransplantation procedure, which causes a prolonged treatment time and additional expenses and increases the rate of future tooth fracture. Rapid prototyping (RP)-assisted autotransplantation shortens the extra-alveolar time and enables a superior clinical outcome. However, no cohort studies of the application of this method on adult populations have been reported. This study is a retrospective cohort study. All patients underwent autotransplantation from 2012 to 2020 in the Kaohsiung and Chia-Yi branches of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, and the procedure and clinical outcomes were analysed. Differences in clinical outcomes, age, sex, extra-alveolar time, fixation method, and RCT rate were compared between the two groups. We enrolled 21 patients, 13 treated using the conventional method and 8 treated using the RP-based technique. The RCT rates of the conventional group and RP group were 92.3% and 59%, respectively. The mean age of the two groups was significantly different (28.8 ± 10 vs. 21.6 ± 2.1); after performing subgroup analysis by excluding all of the patients aged > 40 years, we found that the RCT rates were still significantly different (91.0% vs. 50%). The mean extra-alveolar time was 43 s in the RP group, and the autotransplantation survival rate in both groups was 100%. Rapid prototyping-assisted autotransplantation was successfully adopted for all patients in our study population. By shortening the extra-alveolar time, only 50% of the patients required a root canal treatment with a 100% autotransplantation survival rate. Retrospectively registered.