Consequences of tooth luxation associated with complicated crown fracture: a case report

The objective of this clinical case report is to describe the late treatment performed in a 10-year-old patient who suffered a complicated crown fracture associated with luxation of the maxillary left central incisor. The patient-s parents reported that the patient fell and was immediately taken to a hospital, where radiographs, splinting, and suturing were performed and an anti-inflammatory prescription was provided, but no treatment was given for the exposed pulp. The parents and patient sought treatment at a pediatric dentistry clinic 16 days post-trauma. The clinical examination revealed the presence of a left central incisor with a fracture of enamel and dentin involving the pulp, which was necrotic, and a splint extending from the right lateral incisor to the left lateral incisor. However, it was not possible to diagnose the type of luxation that had occurred. The fractured incisor was treated with periodic changes of calcium hydroxide dressing for apexification for 10 months, and the root was subsequently obturated with gutta percha and root canal sealer. The tooth fragment was stored in physiologic solution during this time. After obturation, tooth darkening was observed, and LED-assisted tooth bleaching was accomplished prior to reattachment of the fractured fragment. The tooth was reexamined every 6 months. Two years after the traumatic event, the left central incisor was infraoccluded in relation to the right central incisor. A radiograph confirmed ankylosis of the traumatized tooth. When trauma affects the enamel, dentin, pulp, and supporting tissues, the prognosis can be unfavorable even when late treatment is adequate, especially when a tooth in a growing patient has points of ankylosis.