Effect of catalase supplementation in storage media for avulsed teeth

The type of liquid medium used to store avulsed teeth prior to replantation has been shown to affect the long-term prognosis. One possibility is that some storage media contain hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) that may be toxic to periodontal ligament cells. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine if the addition of catalase to storage media improved the prognosis of replanted dog teeth. Forty-eight mongrel premolar roots were endodontically treated, extracted, randomly divided and placed into one of four storage media: Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS), containing no antioxidant); Viaspan, containing the antioxidant, glutathione, or the same two media supplemented with catalase(100 U ml(-1)) for 1, 5, or 26 h prior to replantation. After 2 months, the dogs were euthanized and the roots histologically examined to evaluate the attachment tissues. Regardless of the storage medium used, overall healing was excellent and only 4% of the roots displayed inflammatory or replacement resorption. When roots from the different storage media were compared, those stored in HBSS were found to display the highest incidence of surface resorption (55.7%). Supplementation of HBSS with catalase resulted in a lower level of surface resorption (48.6%) that was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Roots stored in Viaspan - or + catalase displayed even lower levels of surface resorption (41.3 and 38.2%, respectively). The improvement observed with catalase-supplemented HBSS was confined to the 45-min incubation period; only Viaspan - or + catalase reduced surface resorption at the 5- and 26-h incubations. Collectively, these data demonstrate that roots stored in media containing antioxidant activity undergo less surface resorption. These results suggest that low levels of H2O2 in storage media for avulsed teeth may adversely affect periodontal ligament cells.