Treatment of the immature tooth with a non-vital pulp and apical periodontitis.

Traditional methods of treatment of immature root with necrotic pulp and apical periodontitis pose multiple challenges. These challenges include disinfection of the root canal with standard protocols that aggressively use endodontic files, filling the root canal with an open apex that provides no barrier for stopping the root filling material before impinging on the periodontal tissues, and the susceptibility of the teeth to fracture because of their thin roots. Disinfection using sodium hypochlorite, apical barrier formation using calcium hydroxide as well as mineral trioxide aggregate, and pulp revascularization of fractured tooth with the help of blood clot and collagen-enhanced matrix has been discussed in detail in this article. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.