Procedures for treating spaces vacated by loss of transplanted teeth

The main reasons for loss of autotransplanted teeth are different from those involved in natural teeth loss. The aim of this study was to investigate which procedures were employed to treat spaces vacated when autotransplanted teeth were lost. Participating dentists were requested to provide information on transplantations they had undertaken. A total of 614 teeth in 552 patients (37 dentists) ranging in age from 17 to 79 years (mean age: 44.1 years) were examined. A total of 102 transplanted teeth were lost during the observation period. Procedures for treatment of spaces vacated were not influenced by main reason for transplanted tooth loss. The procedure used to treat depended on the original prosthodontic treatment of the transplanted teeth. For single crowns, the spaces were left empty (33.9%) or replaced by bridge work (30.5%), implants (20.3%), or dentures (10.2%). For single crowns in the upper and lower second molar regions, the spaces were usually left empty (upper 100%, lower 71.4%), while for those in the upper and lower first molar regions, the spaces were often replaced by bridge work (upper 41.7%, lower 50.0%). For bridge abutments, spaces were replaced by dentures (42.9%), implants (33.3%), or left empty (14.3%), and in the lower second molar region, they were mostly replaced by implants (5 cases, 41.7%). For most denture abutment cases, the spaces were replaced by dentures (88.9%). During the survival period of the transplanted teeth, the masticatory burden on the other teeth is reduced and the adjacent teeth are supported by the transplanted tooth. Even if transplanted teeth are eventually lost, traditional procedures can be performed to fill the vacated space.