Dental Trauma Guide: a source of evidence-based treatment guidelines for dental trauma.

Diagnosis and treatment for traumatic dental injuries are very complex owing to the multiple trauma entities represented by six luxation types and nine fracture types affecting both the primary and the permanent dentition. When it is further considered that fracture and luxation injuries are often combined, the result is that more than 100 trauma scenarios exist, when the two dentitions are combined. Each of these trauma scenarios has a specific treatment demand and prospect for healing. With such a complexity in diagnosis and treatment, it is obvious that even experienced practitioners may have problems in selecting proper treatment for some of these trauma types. To remedy this situation, an Internet-based knowledge base consisting of 4000 dental trauma cases with long-term follow up is now available to the public and the professions on the Internet using the address http://www.DentalTraumaGuide.org. It is the aspiration that the use of this Guide may lead the practitioner to offer an evidence-based diagnosis and treatment.

History of the Dental Trauma Guide.

The history of the Dental Trauma Guide dates back to 1965, where guidelines were developed for trauma records and treatment of various trauma entities at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University Hospital in Copenhagen. In 1972, a unique possibility came up at the Serum Institute in Copenhagen to test various dental trauma procedures in monkeys, which served as kidney donors in the polio vaccine production. Over the years, 40 000 dental trauma patients were treated at the Trauma Centre according to established guidelines, and 4000 of these have been enrolled in long-term follow-up of various trauma entities. This has resulted in 79 clinical studies, and 64 studies in monkeys have examined the effect of various treatment procedures and the aetiology of most healing complications.

Periodontal healing complications following extrusive and lateral luxation in the permanent dentition: a longitudinal cohort study.

PURPOSE: To analyze the risk of tooth loss and complications in periodontal ligament (PDL) healing following extrusive and lateral luxation in the permanent dentition. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty-two permanent teeth (78 patients) with extrusive luxation and 179 teeth (149 patients) with lateral luxation were included in the study. All teeth were examined according to a standardized protocol including clinical, photographic, and radiographic registration. Follow-up controls were performed at regular intervals (3, 6 weeks, 6 months, 1, 5, and 10 years). STATISTICS: The risk of repair-related resorption (surface resorption), infection-related resorption (inflammatory resorption), ankylosis-related resorption (replacement resorption), marginal bone loss, and tooth loss was analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier method. Differences among subgroups were analyzed with log-rank test and Cox regression. RESULTS: The risk of periodontal healing complications was estimated after 3 years. Extrusive luxation: For immature root development, infection-related resorption was 2.4% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0-6.9%). For mature root development, repair-related resorption was 15.6% (95% CI: 4.4-26.7%), infection-related resorption was 5.1% (95% CI: 0-11.7%), and marginal bone loss was 17.5% (95% CI: 6.2-28.8%). No teeth showed ankylosis-related resorption, and no teeth were lost in the observation period. Lateral luxation: For immature root development, repair-related resorption was 2.1% (95% CI: 0-6.1%), infection-related resorption was 2.1% (95% CI: 0-6.1%). For mature root development, repair-related resorption was 29.5% (95% CI: 20.5-38.5%), infection-related resorption was 2.6% (95% CI: 0-6.4%), ankylosis-related resorption was 0.8% (95% CI: 0-2.3%), marginal bone loss was 6.9% (95% CI: 2.2-11.6%). CONCLUSION: The risk of severe periodontal healing complications in teeth with extrusive and lateral luxation injuries is generally low. Marginal bone loss and repair-related resorption occurred significantly more often in teeth with mature rather than immature root development. Marginal bone loss was associated with injuries involving multiple teeth.

The dental trauma internet calculator.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Prediction tools are increasingly used to inform patients about the future dental health outcome. Advanced statistical methods are required to arrive at unbiased predictions based on follow-up studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Internet risk calculator at the Dental Trauma Guide provides prognoses for teeth with traumatic injuries based on the Copenhagen trauma database: http://www.dentaltraumaguide.org The database includes 2191 traumatized permanent teeth from 1282 patients that were treated at the dental trauma unit at the University Hospital in Copenhagen (Denmark) in the period between 1972 and 1991. Subgroup analyses and estimates of event probabilities were based on the Kaplan-Meier and the Aalen-Johansen method. RESULTS: The Internet risk calculator shows individualized prognoses for the short- and long-term healing outcome of traumatized teeth with the following injuries: concussion, subluxation, extrusion, lateral luxation, intrusion, avulsion, crown fractures without luxation, root fractures and alveolar fractures. The prognoses for pulp necrosis, pulp canal obliteration, infection-related root resorption, ankylosis, surface resorption, marginal bone loss, and tooth loss were based on the tooth's root development stage and other risk factors at the time of the injury. CONCLUSIONS: This article explains the database, the functionality and the statistical approach of the Internet risk calculator.

Periodontal healing complications following concussion and subluxation injuries in the permanent dentition: a longitudinal cohort study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to analyze the risk of periodontal ligament (PDL) healing complications following concussion and subluxation injuries in the permanent dentition. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A total 469 permanent teeth (358 patients) with concussion and 404 permanent teeth with subluxation were included in the study. All teeth were examined according to a standardized protocol including clinical, photographic, and radiographic registration. STATISTICS: The risk of repair-related resorption (surface resorption), infection-related resorption (inflammatory resorption), replacement-related resorption (ankylosis), marginal bone loss, and tooth loss were analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Concussion: In teeth with immature root development, no healing complications were observed. For teeth with mature root development, the risk of repair related resorption after 3 years was 3.2% (95% CI: 0.3-6.0%) and occurred only in cases where several teeth were injured simultaneously (multiple-trauma cases). The risk of marginal bone loss in teeth with mature root development was 0.7% (95% CI: 0-1.6%). Infection-related resorption, replacement resorption, and tooth loss were not observed among teeth with concussion. Subluxation: In teeth with immature root development, the risk of infection-related resorption after 3 years was 1.7% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0-3.8%]. Infection-related resorption occurred significantly more often in teeth with concomitant crown fracture (P = 0.004). For teeth with mature root development, the risk of periodontal healing complications after 3 years was: repair-related resorption, 3.6% (95% CI: 0-7.6%); infection-related resorption, 0.6% (95% CI: 0-1.7%); replacement-related resorption, 0.6% (95% CI: 0-1.7%); and marginal bone loss, 0.6% (95% CI: 0-1.7%). No teeth were lost in the observation period. CONCLUSION: The risk of periodontal healing complications after concussion as well as subluxation injuries in permanent teeth is very low.

Root fractures: the influence of type of healing and location of fracture on tooth survival rates - an analysis of 492 cases.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to analyze tooth loss after root fractures and to assess the influence of the type of healing and the location of the root fracture. Furthermore, the actual cause of tooth loss was analyzed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Long-term survival rates were calculated using data from 492 root-fractured teeth in 432 patients. The cause of tooth loss was assessed as being the result of either pulp necrosis (including endodontic failures), new traumas or excessive mobility. The statistics used were Kaplan-Meier and the log rank method. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The location of the root fracture had a strong significant effect on tooth survival (P = 0.0001). The 10-year tooth survival of apical root fractures was 89% [95% confidence interval (CI), 78-99%], of mid-root fractures 78% (CI, 64-92%), of cervical-mid-root fractures 67% (CI, 50-85%), and of cervical fractures 33% (CI, 17-49%). The fracture-healing type offered further prognostic information. No tooth loss was observed in teeth with hard tissue fracture healing regardless of the position of the fracture. For teeth with interposition of connective tissue, the location of the fracture had a significant influence on tooth loss (P = 0.0001). For teeth with connective tissue healing, the estimated 8-year survival of apical, mid-root, and cervical-mid-root fractures were all more than 80%, whereas the estimated 8-year survival of cervical fractures was 25% (CI, 7-43%). For teeth with non-healing with interposition of granulation tissue, the location of the fracture showed a significant influence on tooth loss (P = 0.0001). The cause of tooth loss was found to be very dependent upon the location of the fracture. In conclusion, the long-term tooth survival of root fractures was strongly influenced by the type of healing and the location of the fracture.

Tooth mobility changes subsequent to root fractures: a longitudinal clinical study of 44 permanent teeth.

The purpose of this study was to analyze tooth mobility changes in root-fractured permanent teeth and relate this to type of interfragment healing (hard tissue healing (HT), interfragment healing with periodontal ligament (PDL) and nonhealing with interposition of granulation tissue (GT) because of pulp necrosis in the coronal fragment. Furthermore, the effect of age, location of the fracture on the root, and observation period on mobility values was analyzed. Mobility values were measured for 44 of 95 previous reported root-fractured permanent incisors. Mobility changes were measured with a Mühlemanns periodontometer and noninjured incisors served as controls. The mobility values represented the labial-lingual excursion of the root measured in µm when the tooth received a frontal and a palatal impact of 100 g force. In 18 cases of hard tissue healing (HT), a slightly increased mobility was seen after 3 months and 1 year, and a normalization of mobility value was usually found after 5 and 10 years. In 17 cases of PDL healing, generally a higher mobility was found in comparison with root fractures healing with hard tissue, and a consistent decrease in mobility value was found in the course of the 10 year observation period. A tendency for reduced mobility over time was found, a relation that could possibly be explained by the known general decrease in tooth mobility with increasing age. Finally, nine cases of nonhealing with initial interposition of granulation tissue (GT) because of pulp necrosis in the coronal fragment resulted in increasing mobility values possibly related to a lateral breakdown of the PDL in relation to the fracture line. In control teeth, a lowering of mobility was found over the course of a 10-year observation period. In conclusion, mobility changes appeared to reflect the radiographic healing stages and known age effects upon tooth mobility.

Combination injuries 2. The risk of pulp necrosis in permanent teeth with subluxation injuries and concomitant crown fractures.

BACKGROUND: The reported risk of pulp necrosis (PN) is generally low in teeth with subluxation injuries. A concomitant crown fracture may increase the risk of PN in such teeth. AIM: To analyse the influence of a concomitant trauma-related infraction, enamel-, enamel-dentin- or enamel-dentin-pulp fracture on the risk of PN in permanent teeth with subluxation injury. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 404 permanent incisors with subluxation injury from 289 patients (188 male, 101 female). Of these teeth, 137 had also suffered a concomitant crown fracture. All the teeth were examined and treated according to a standardized protocol. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The risk of PN was analysed separately for teeth with immature and mature root development by the Kaplan-Meier method, the log-rank test and Cox regression analysis. The level of significance was set at 5%. Risk factors included in the analysis were gender, patient age, crown fracture type, mobility and response to an electric pulp test (EPT) at the initial examination. RESULTS: Teeth with immature root development: The risk of PN was increased in teeth with a concomitant enamel fracture (log-rank test: P = 0.002), enamel-dentin fracture (log-rank test: P < 0.0001), enamel-dentin-pulp fracture (log-rank test: P < 0.0001) and in teeth with no response to EPT at the initial examination [hazard ratio: 21 (95% confidence interval, CI: 2.5-172.5), P = 0.005]. Teeth with mature root development: the risk of PN was increased in teeth with an enamel-dentin fracture [hazard ratio: 12.2 (95% CI: 5.0-29.8), P < 0.0001], infraction [hazard ratio: 5.1 (95% CI: 1.2-21.4) P = 0.04] and in teeth with no response to EPT at the initial examination [hazard ratio: 8 (95% CI: 3.3-19.5), P < 0.0001]. CONCLUSION: A concomitant crown fracture and no response to EPT at the initial examination may be used to identify teeth at increased risk of PN following subluxation injury.

Combination injuries 1. The risk of pulp necrosis in permanent teeth with concussion injuries and concomitant crown fractures.

BACKGROUND: The reported risk of pulp necrosis (PN) is low in teeth with concussion injuries. A concomitant crown fracture may affect the risk of PN. AIM: To analyze the influence of a crown fracture (with and without pulp exposure) on the risk of PN in teeth with concussion injury. MATERIAL: The study included 469 permanent incisors with concussion from 358 patients (226 male, 132 female). Among these, 292 had a concomitant crown fracture (70 with and 222 without pulp exposure). All teeth were examined and treated according to standardized protocol. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The risk of PN was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression. Risk factors included in the analysis: gender, age, stage of root development, type of crown fracture, and response to electric pulp test (EPT) at the initial examination. The level of significance was set at 5%. RESULTS: The risk of PN was low in teeth with immature root development [1.1%, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0-3.4]. The following factors significantly increased the risk of PN in teeth with mature root development: crown fracture without pulp exposure [hazard ratio 4.1 (95% CI: 1.4-11.9), P = 0.01] and no response to EPT at the initial examination [hazard ratio 30.7 (95% CI: 7.7-121), P < 0.0001]. The overall risk of PN increased from 3.5% (95% CI: 0.2-6.8) to 11.0% (95% CI: 5.2-16.7) when a concomitant crown fracture without pulp exposure was present. If the tooth had both a crown fracture and gave no response to EPT, the risk further increased to 55.0% (95% CI: 34.3-75.8). CONCLUSION: No response to EPT at the initial examination or a concomitant crown fracture significantly increased the risk of PN in teeth with concussion injury and mature root development. If both risk factors were present there was a synergetic effect.

Combination injuries 3. The risk of pulp necrosis in permanent teeth with extrusion or lateral luxation and concomitant crown fractures without pulp exposure.

AIM: To analyze the influence of a crown fracture without pulp exposure on the risk of pulp necrosis (PN) in teeth with extrusion or lateral luxation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 82 permanent incisors with extrusion from 78 patients (57 male, 21 female) and 179 permanent incisors with lateral luxation from 149 patients (87 male, 62 female). A total of 25 teeth with extrusion and 33 teeth with lateral luxation had suffered a concomitant crown fracture (infraction, enamel fracture or enamel-dentin-fracture). All the teeth were examined and treated according to a standardized protocol. STATISTICS: The risk of PN was analyzed separately for teeth with immature and mature root development by the Kaplan-Meier method, the log-rank test and Cox regression (lateral luxation only). The level of significance was set at 5%. Risk factors included in the analysis were gender, age, crown fracture, and response to electric pulp test at the initial examination. RESULTS: A concomitant crown fracture significantly increased the risk of PN in teeth with lateral luxation. For teeth with immature root development (hazard ratio: 10 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1-100] P = 0.04), the overall risk increased from 4.7% (95% CI: 0-10.8) to 40% (95% CI: 2.8-77.2). For teeth with mature root development [hazard ratio: 2.4 (95% CI: 1.4-4.2) P < 0.001], the overall risk increased from 65.1% (95% CI: 55.2-75.1) to 93% (95% CI: 85.5-100). In teeth with extrusion and mature root development, the overall risk of PN increased from 56.5% (95% CI: 37.7-75.4) to 76.5% (95% CI: 58.9-94) in case of a concomitant crown fracture, but the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: A concomitant crown fracture without pulp exposure significantly increased the risk of PN in teeth with lateral luxation. This risk factor may be used to identify teeth at increased risk of PN following lateral luxation injury.

Dental Trauma Guide: a source of evidence-based treatment guidelines for dental trauma.

Diagnosis and treatment for traumatic dental injuries are very complex owing to the multiple trauma entities represented by six luxation types and nine fracture types affecting both the primary and the permanent dentition. When it is further considered that fracture and luxation injuries are often combined, the result is that more than 100 trauma scenarios exist, when the two dentitions are combined. Each of these trauma scenarios has a specific treatment demand and prospect for healing. With such a complexity in diagnosis and treatment, it is obvious that even experienced practitioners may have problems in selecting proper treatment for some of these trauma types. To remedy this situation, an Internet-based knowledge base consisting of 4000 dental trauma cases with long-term follow up is now available to the public and the professions on the Internet using the address http://www.DentalTraumaGuide.org. It is the aspiration that the use of this Guide may lead the practitioner to offer an evidence-based diagnosis and treatment.