Replantation in general dental practice.

This paper presents a comparison of the outcome of two cases where teeth, avulsed in sporting accidents, were replanted in general dental practice and have been reviewed for 5 years. Avulsed teeth which were stored dry, had a long extra-alveolar period and were splinted for a longer period of time, ultimately underwent replacement root resorption (case 1). There was no evidence of resorption, after 5 years, in the tooth that was stored in the patient's own saliva and was replanted within 45 minutes of being avulsed (case 2). The replantation procedure for these two cases was based on recent literature, which is also reviewed in this paper, and a protocol for the management of avulsed teeth is suggested.