Periodontal ligament vitality and histologic healing of teeth stored for extended periods before transplantation.

A previous study evaluated the viability of dog periodontal ligament cells as indicated by tritiated thymidine uptake after extended storage in Hank's balanced salt solution and Conditioned Medium. The purpose of this study was to evaluate histologic healing following the identical storage parameters established in the earlier study. Additionally, for Conditioned Medium, matched pairs (teeth evaluated for tritiated thymidine uptake and transplanted teeth) were examined in an attempt to correlate periodontal ligament vitality and healing. Forty-six extracted endodontically treated dogs' teeth were randomly grouped and stored in Hank's balanced salt solution or Conditioned Medium for 6, 48, and 96 h and then transplanted into 6-, 48-, and 96-h sockets. The control group teeth were transplanted without storage into 6-, 48-, or 96-h sockets. After 6 months the dogs were killed and the teeth were prepared for histologic evaluation according to Andreasen. Complete healing, inflammatory root resorption, and replacement resorption were evaluated and compared. Overall, significantly better healing was observed for teeth stored in Conditioned Medium than for teeth stored in Hank's balanced salt solution. Conditioned Medium was not significantly different from controls. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between periodontal ligament viability and healing for Conditioned Medium. These results confirmed the importance of periodontal ligament viability in successful replantation and the potential of Conditioned Medium as a storage medium for avulsed teeth.