Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 23, 2025

Inducing Apical Periodontitis in Mice
Published on: August 6, 2019
Micro-CT Evaluation of Spontaneous Apexification of an Immature Tooth following Trauma
Peter Cathro1, Mike Smith2, Jithendra Ratnayake1
1Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Otago, 310 Great King Street, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand.
Abstract:
This case reports on the micro-computerised tomography (CT) images of a periapical calcified dome following spontaneous apexification as a subsequence of trauma. An immature, maxillary central incisor was found to be non-vital one month following trauma. The tooth had minimal signs of structural damage; however, there was radiographic evidence of spontaneous apexification. The tooth suffered a second traumatic episode two years later and was decoronated to facilitate bone retention during osseous development. The patient presented with swelling and pain 36 months later, and the tooth root was extracted. The root was embedded in resin, and cross-sectional images were obtained using micro-CT. Analysis of the images provided insight into the structure of the calcified dome that formed following the first traumatic injury.

