Successful minimally invasive intervention in a primary central incisor after root fracture: A case report

Root fractures vary in severity, extent, and location, according to the physical and mechanical aspects of the accident. Root fractures are rare in primary teeth and they affect dentin, cementum, periodontal ligament and the pulp. This paper reports a case of a two-and-a-half-year-old baby who had a root fracture of the upper right primary central incisor (tooth 51) as a consequence of trauma that was managed with minimally invasive intervention. After clinical and radiographic examinations, the presence of tooth mobility, pain, bleeding and a horizontal apical root fracture was diagnosed on tooth 51. The treatment of choice was splinting for 120 days, which can deliver excellent results regardless of the patient's age. The tooth was preserved without needing endodontic intervention until its physiologic exfoliation and normal eruption of its permanent successor. As sequelae to the fractured tooth 51, there was some coronal color alteration and dystrophic calcification of the root canal. This tooth did not develop ankylosis or mobility during the follow-up period. After 57 months of follow-up, repositioning and splinting were appropriate ways to manage this horizontal root fracture in the apical third of this primary tooth. It allowed the tooth to be preserved in the arch with normal function.