Therapeutic approach to intrusive luxation injuries in primary dentition. A clinical follow-up study

This paper reports the results of a fifteen-year study carried out at the Dentoalveolar trauma study Centre of the University of Cagliari Dental Department, on treatment modes utilised for the recovery of periodontal injuries in primary dentition.

The data referred to dental injuries were collected and recorded according to Andreasen's dental trauma classification: clinical signs and symptoms, patient's age and gender, lesion site and extent of the injury, timeframe between trauma and first dental examination. The authors focused their attention on intrusive luxations in primary dentition, which are a very frequent trauma in children between 1 and 4 years of age. It is extremely difficult to treat such injuries and there is an ongoing discussion about the advisability of extracting the intruded teeth, as opposed to wait and assist their natural repositioning using non-invasive techniques aimed at the maintenance of the eruptive space in the dental arch.

This careful conservative approach allowed the repositioning of about 60% of the 85 intruded teeth examined. It substantially reduced the number and severity of undesirable sequelae, both local (enamel-hypoplasia) and occlusal (tooth retention), so that only in about 25% of the followed-up cases damages of the successor tooth were found in the permanent dentition.

The authors conclude their study emphasizing that all those involved in paediatric dentistry must be familiar with periodontal injuries and trained in their treatment, particularly as regards intrusive luxations in primary dentition.