Evaluation of histologic criteria applied for description of pulp reactions in replanted human premolars

To test the reproducibility of a scoring system prepared for the study of the tissue changes in replanted teeth, 30 teeth were allocated at random from a material comprising 70 replanted and control teeth. The scoring system elaborated was applied for description of the odontoblast layer, predentin, secondary dentin, circulatory alterations, resorption, Weil's zone, cellular infiltration and calcification. The registrations were performed twice with a time interval of approximately 2 months. The scores were subsequently compared. Generally speaking, the double determinations were in good agreement as only 4.7% of the pairs of registrations failed to correspond. The agreement was particularly good for secondary dentin, cellular infiltration, resorption, Weil's zone and calcification scores. These criteria are accessible for group comparisons when differences in pulp tissue characteristics are small. The remaining three criteria may prove not to be useful unless the tissue response is substantial.