Extraction of teeth with root preservation

A method for covering single root-filled roots by mucosal flaps has been developed. The method has been used for patients attending the Royal Dental College, Copenhagen, for total extractions of teeth and full denture treatment. The operative method consists in covering a crown-resected, root-filled root by a combined buccal trapezoid flap and a bridge-shaped lingual flap. Twenty-seven operations were carried out on 17 patients, nine men and eight women 26-60 years old (mean 43 years). Results after a 2-month follow-up are presented. In the first 11 operations only a single buccal flap was used for covering the root. As only five of these operations healed uneventfully the method was modified into a combined buccallingual flap. This method was used in 16 cases with primary, uneventful healing in 15 cases.