Relationship between Initial Attendance after Dental Trauma and Development of External Inflammatory Root Resorption

This clinical study aimed to evaluate the relationship of the delay between dental trauma and the initial attendance to the development of external inflammatory root resorption in permanent teeth affected by severe luxation. Sixty-seven patients, aged between 11 and 56 years, presenting 133 injured teeth with closed apex (56 extrusive luxation, 69 lateral luxation and 8 intrusive luxation) were followed up for a minimum of 24 months. The time elapsed between dental trauma and the initial attendance was recorded. The presence of necrotic pulp and external inflammatory resorption for each type of trauma was verified. Fisher's exact test was used to verify the influence of the initial attendance date at the Dental Trauma Center and the development of inflammatory resorption (p<0.05). The odds ratio was used to check the risk of developing external inflammatory resorption due to delay in seeking treatment. Pulp necrosis was observed in 105 teeth (78.9%) and external inflammatory resorption was detected in 17.8% cases of extrusive luxation (10 teeth), 15.9% of lateral luxation (11 teeth) and 25% of intrusive luxation (2 teeth). For lateral luxation, extended delay between the date of injury and initial attendance influenced the occurrence of external inflammatory resorption (p=0.0174). Patients who began treatment 45 days after the injury were 3.4 times more likely to develop external inflammatory resorption than patients who sought treatment after the trauma. Treatment late after the occurrence of dental trauma can impair the prognosis and result in the development of external inflammatory resorption in luxated teeth.