Autotransplantation of teeth

In the introduction, attention was drawn to the need for investigations of autotransplantation of teeth in order to achieve a greater certainty of indication and prognosis for this reconstructive form of surgery. The author reports on a trial series in which 36 autotransplantations were carried out (24 molars, 8 premolars and 4 canines). The age of the patients ranged between 10 and 66 years. There were 26 women and 10 men. The observation time varied between six months and seven years. The clinical and radiological investigations gave the following results: 25 of the transplants were judged as successful (69 per cent.), six as uncertain (17 per cent.) and five as failures (14 per cent.). A difference in the percentage of successful cases in various age-groups (the degree of development of the tooth) could not be shown within the above age limits. Failure was due in four cases to periapical osteitis with complications and in one case to root resorption with loss of the tooth.